Correct your child
1 The man who loves his son makes use of the rod; later on he will be proud of him.
2 The man who corrects his son will reap the benefit and be proud of him among his ac quain tances.
3 By instructing his son he makes his enemy envious; he will be well pleased with him in the company of his friends.
4 If such a father dies it is as if he had not died, for he leaves behind him another man like himself.
5 In life he had the joy of his company and he is not sorrowful when death comes.
6 He leaves it to his family to take revenge on his enemies and to return gifts to his friends.
7 The man who coddles his son will be constantly bandaging his wounds; at his every cry he will be troubled.
8 Just as a badly broken-in horse can not be mounted, so a spoiled son be comes in solent.
9 Pamper your child and later he will terrify you; play with him and he will bring you sorrow.
10 Do not laugh at him lest you have to suffer and grind your teeth.
11 Do not let him be independent as a child,
12 but rather bruise his ribs while he is still young, lest he grow stubborn and re fuse to obey.
13 Be strict with your son and persevere in this, so as not to suffer because of his misconduct.
14 Better a poor man healthy and fit, than a rich man tormented in body.
15 Health and vigor are worth more than gold, a robust body, more than great wealth.
16 No riches are preferable to physical well-being, and no joy is greater than a cheerful heart.
17 Death is better than a wretched life and eternal rest preferable to lasting sickness.
18 Dishes of food placed on an empty tomb are like good things offered to one who cannot eat.
19 What good is a sacrifice offered to an idol? It can neither eat nor smell. So is it with the one whom the Lord has stricken;
20 he sees with his eyes and groans, like a eunuch embracing a virgin and sighing.
21 Do not give yourself over to sadness or torment yourself with brooding.
22 Joy of heart is life to a man; gladness gives him length of days.
23 Delight your soul and console your heart; chase sorrow far away, for sorrow has destroyed many and never did good to anyone.
24 Jealousy and anger shorten your life; worry makes you old before the time.
25 A cheerful and kindly person will have a good appetite and enjoy his food.
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Comments Sirach, Chapter 30
• 30.1 Here Ben Sira touches a point on which the destiny of a people depends. Every one complains that there are few responsible people. We experience good intentions everywhere, but where are the people who can persevere in doing good and carry out their good intentions? The major cause of a lack of maturity in willpower is found in the total lack of parental authority. A three-month-old baby knows that if he keeps crying he will force the mother to pick him up. When he is two years old, a child knows how to threaten, scream, have a tantrum, with the assurance that, in the end, his parents will give in: “What can we do? The child does not want it.”
Ben Sira knows that only children who are sub ject to discipline and whose whims are not satisfied by their parents, only they will come to real freedom, because they are able to persevere in doing good.
Christianity, of course, is not founded on the observance of law. Yet, though every believer may experience something of the “spirit,” we will have trouble reaping its fruits if we are not disciplined.