“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15).
A human baby is born with instincts but no knowledge. He has to be taught everything. This is why the divine plan for every child is to be born to a mother married to his father.
Like all humanity, every child has a way that seem right to him, but its end is the way of death (Prov. 14:12). Foolishness is a child’s greatest foe. If it is not rooted out and replaced with love for God and His word, plus a robust fear of the Lord, certain spiritual disaster awaits. Therefore, “Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell” (Prov. 23:13-14).
The rod of correction is an expression of parental wisdom and love (Prov. 3:11-12). It is an essential weapon to defeating the foe of foolishness.
And godless people refuse a “rod.”