discipline will drive it far from him.” God says there is something
wrong in the child’s heart. Folly or foolishness is bound up in his
heart. This folly must be removed, for it places the child at risk.
(^) When we speak of folly we are not speaking of childishness.
Children do childish things. They spill the milk at the breakfast table.
(If you have young children you must plan on mopping up gallons of
milk.) They try to give their teddy bear a drink of their orange juice.
We don’t discipline for childishness even when it is terribly
inconvenient.
(^) Throughout the Proverbs, folly/foolishness is used to describe the
person who has no fear of God. The fool is the one who will not hear
reproof. The fool is the one who will not submit to authority. The fool
is the one who mocks at the ways of God. The fool lacks wisdom (fear
of the Lord). “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God’ ”
(Psalm 14:1). The fool says, “I refuse to acknowledge God; there is no
God to be concerned with; my only concern is myself and my
agenda.”
(^) The fool’s life is run by his desires and fears. This is what you
hear from your young children. The most common phrases in the
vocabulary of a 3-year-old are, “I want ... ” or “I don’t want ... ” The
fool lives out of the immediacy of his lusts, cravings, expectations,
hopes, and fears.
(^) It is a question of authority. Will the child live under the authority
of God and therefore the authority of his parents, or under his own
authority—driven by his wants and passions?
(^) This is the natural state of your children. It may be subtly hidden
beneath a tuft of rumpled hair. It may be imperceptible in the smile of
a baby. In their natural state, however, your children have hearts of
folly. Therefore, they resist correction. They protest against your
attempts to rule them. Watch a baby struggle against a diaper change
or wearing a hat in the winter. Even this baby who cannot articulate or
even conceptualize what he is doing shows a determination not to be