Proverbs 29:15 states, “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” The book of Proverbs give many similar statements. Such statements imply that children, in and of themselves, are prone to folly and to shameful behavior Pr.22:15, and that the undisciplined and uninstructed child is destined for self-destruction. God’s remedy for foolish children is the correction and discipline which comes from responsible fathers and mothers, Pr.1:8; 6:20; 13:24; 15:5; 23:13-14. If it is true that the child left to himself will bring destruction to his life, then imagine what would be the fate of a community filled with such children.
[coll_text max_font_size=”30″ min_font_size=”25″]Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6[/coll_text]
According to statistics, 70 percent of black children are born to single parent homes. While I would acknowledge that there are many single parents who do a good job of raising their children, the fact remains that children do better when there is a mother and a father in the home. The reason that two parent homes work better is that God designed it to be that way. The family is God’s institution. God designed women with certain special qualities which men do not have. And, He designed men with certain special qualities which women do not have. These differences are not meant to cause division and strife between men and women, but rather, to strengthen and complete the family. There are many other very disturbing statistics on the black community. With regards to crime, incarceration, academic under-achievement and poverty levels, our numbers are disproportionately higher than any other race’s. There are many different opinions as to why these numbers are so high. While I do agree that there are economic and political factors involved,I happen to believe that the main factor is the breakdown of the black family. Prior to the 1960s, the black family was much stronger. The majority of black children were being raised in two parent homes and we do not find evidence of excessively high levels of crime and violence in the community. But, as illegitimacy numbers rose in our community, so did crime, violence and all the other symptoms of brokenness. What all of this suggests to me is that the first major battle ground in the struggle for our community is the family. We must repair this God ordained institution. Let us invest our energies here. If we will once again honor marriage, if men will once again make a priority of marrying and of loving their wives and of disciplining their children, we will see our community turning around for the better .