Is Bathing a Sin?
What would you say to a person who believes it is a sin to take a bath? You heard me correctly.
Not a shower or a sponge bath, just a bath. They don’t believe in it because of people like Andrea Yates,
who drowned five of her children in Texas in 2001. She was unkind and unloving, and misused a bathtub to
harm her children, “So everyone who takes a bath supports her barbaric behavior.”
Obviously, God’s word says nothing about such nonsense, so anyone who reasons from this
perspective is irrational and incorrect. Only He can determine what is right or wrong spiritually (1 Tim.
4:1-5). Just because some misuse the activity doesn’t mean bathing in and of itself is wrong.
Friends, if we can see the absurdity of such a scenario, shall we not see the same when it comes to
spanking children? Our nation has been told that since some parents have harmed and abused their children
with corporal punishment, then all spanking is wrong and sinful. God’s word disagrees. He says it is
essential to discipline our children to improve their behavior. “The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child
left to himself brings shame to his mother” (Pro. 29:15). See also Proverbs 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:17.
It is a terrible mistake to think we can “time out” our children into respectful behavior. That may
work at times, along with other forms of punishment, but only if the child has been trained properly with
corporal punishment. Those who beat their children, or take out their frustrations on them, are misusing
spanking and should be corrected themselves. A parent must always show love, patience, and self-control
when disciplining children. But, to conclude that all spanking is wrong because of the derelicts who misuse
it is as prudent as outlawing bathing because of a murderous mother. Going from one extreme to another
helps no one. –Mike Thomas
Radio Program on Sundays at 10:15 a.m. on 99.9 F.M.
Beaver Dam Church of Christ
www.beaverdamchurch.com