Scoffers and Simpletons

The goodness and necessity of discipline

“When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise.” (Prov. 21:11a)

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Contrary to contemporary sensibilities, it’s actually a good thing when scoffers are punished.

Why?

One reason is that by such punishment “the simple becomes wise.” That is, the naive are instructed and the inexperienced gain wisdom.

This is because the law has a pedagogical as well as retributive function. When truth and justice are upheld, and those who flout authority are called to account, it has a seasoning influence on those who witness it.

We see the consequences of rebellion.

We witness the bitter end of folly.

We taste the futility of iniquity.

And we’re the better for it.

Our culture presently denies the goodness of discipline and insists instead on a world without consequences: childhood without obedience, employment without diligence, crime without consequence, peace without truth.

The thought of actually enforcing justice, whether in the family, the workplace, or the civil sphere, is perceived as unkind and unloving. But this denies the clear wisdom of God’s word: sometimes we need to see the hammer fall.

Sometimes we need to see public rebuke, that “the rest may stand in fear” (1 Tim. 5:20).

Sometimes we need to see or even experience church discipline, that we may “learn not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:20).

Sometimes we need to see that person fired, that sibling spanked, that criminal sentenced.

It may not be pleasant—it may not be “nice”—but if we’re humble, we might just gain wisdom.

Better yet, we might finally see our sin and our profound need for the mercy and grace of Christ.

May God help us toward that end.