Discipline your son, for in that there is hope;

do not be a willing party to his death.

Proverbs 19:18, NIV (1978)

According to CNN, there have been 83 school shootings in 2024. 13 have died in these shootings, the most recent of which was at a Christian school in Wisconsin this past week. What can be done?

In modern times, we have treated our children's problems with medications that have warning labels to stop using them if you have violent or suicidal feelings. Many warn of feelings of depression, for these anti-depressant drugs. Physicians who prescribe them will often tell the parents that once their child begins treatment with these medications that it is unlikely if they will ever get off of them. Doctors often give these drugs because the parents are begging them to do so because their child is out of control and something must be done.

I'm not sure this "something" is working all that well. But is there anything that could? Is there any hope at all in these seemingly hopeless situations? Is our only solution really a drug that has known adverse effects? Is this really our only hope?

The Bible reveals that with discipline, there is hope. Now I realize that many will scoff at this idea, for discipline in any form is considered to be abusive in our modern world. Corporal punishment is almost unheard of in our public schools and is becoming rarer within our own homes. Instead, we reason with two-year-olds, we plead with our kindergartners, we yell at our adolescents and, when all else fails, we medicate them.

Much of this has come about because we have removed God from these very schools and homes. It is not the only reason. Clearly there are instances of kids turning destructive who have received proper discipline and training in God's Word, but this is the exception, not the rule. And when you do see bad kids coming from good Christian homes, the root is often that the homes are "good" and "Christian" in name only. 

My observation after preaching for over three decades is this: When a child is raised with true Christian principles such as love and kindness, when they receive a discipline that is firm but fair, and when they are taught that they were put here by a compassionate Creator who loves them more than they could imagine, it is then that these children have hope. When a child is raised in the fear and admonition of a loving God, they have security. Many will scoff at these ideas. Many will laugh at the idea that a God who would be feared is no God for them, but that is because they fail to understand that the fear of God is predicated on respect and love.

But these things are antiquated in our modern world. We would rather send our kids to counselling than take the time to train them ourselves. We would rather be "buddies" with our children than parents who would actually spank them. And, since we have ruled out this form of discipline, we are often left with few other options than to medicate them... with drugs that warn of side effects such as depression, suicidal thoughts, and violent behavior.

I understand that bad behavior can happen even in good Christian homes - I am not making the argument that it does not. What I am saying is that such evil behavior is rare. It is rare when coming from a child who has been raised with consistent discipline by loving parents who are training their children that there is a standard, set by a loving God who will reward them in this life and in the life to come. And the reason that it is rare is because the child feels loved and secure because they really are loved and really are provided with security. And with love and security there is hope.

And hopeful children do not tend to harm themselves or others. I am not trying to be over simplistic, but if we want to reduce and eliminate the violence in our schools, we are going to have to begin by instilling God, love, discipline and hope in our homes. It is true that bad things are done by those who are raised in a Christian environment, but the chances of such things happening are much less than for those who are raised without God, without love, without discipline and without hope. We would do well, both as parents and as a society, to remember these things before it is too late. And, I might add, it is never too late for those who have the hope of God and of Christ in their lives.