Attention Parents! One thing our children must have

By Steve Cornell

What do you desire for your children more than anything else? Success? Happiness? Security? A good marriage? All of these are worthy but there is something more important. It’s found in one of the best manuals for parenting--the book of Proverbs.

The Old Testament book of Proverbs invites the reader to sit in on a conversation between a father and a son. An opening and repeated line, “Listen, my son, to your father's instruction...” (1:7), makes matters intensely personal. In Proverbs chapters one through seven, we walk with a father as he prepares his son for life in the real world. Apparently, this young man was raised in a good family. His mother and father were careful to instruct him and raise him in the ways of God. Yet, as the son prepares to enter independent life, the father makes no assumptions about his strength to withstand dangers and temptations. The attitude that says, “We raised him right, so he’ll do the right thing!” is far from this father’s thoughts. He knows that the lure of life’s pleasures has subtle and hidden dangers. He never misses of one more opportunity to remind his to adhere to the teaching he received.

Some parents hold misguided notions that if they do their parenting “right,” it guarantees their children will turn out “right.” These are the parents who are surprised when their teenager does normal teenage stuff. They lament, “We raised him the “right” way, I just don’t understand?” Parents who say things like this underestimate both the sin nature of their child and the pervasive power of evil in general.

In all that the father has to say to his son, he has one primary concern for him. The father put it this way, “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). Wisdom is what our children need more than anything else. But what is wisdom and how is it attained? Wisdom and understanding are different from knowledge. Wisdom is knowledge applied. It is perception and discernment. It requires knowledge to a degree but it handles knowledge the right way. It is possible to have vast knowledge and still be a fool.

The father warned his son that many voices will call for his allegiance but he must listen to wisdom. Personifying wisdom, the father wrote, “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares” (Proverbs 1:20; cf. Proverbs 8-9). Concerned about dangerous people his son will encounter, the father says, “Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways; who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words” (Proverbs 2:12-16).

The book of proverbs offers itself as a source of wisdom (see Proverbs 1:1-2). But wisdom is not merely street smarts or shrewdness based on self interest. We know this because, “...the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6). Since “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10), wisdom cannot be attained where God is not honored. This emphasis is what distinguishes biblical proverbs from other ancient proverbial literature.

Longing for his son to have wisdom, the father admonishes him to be fully devoted to God. God must not be an afterthought but the main thought if wisdom is to be found and treasured. The father uses five verbs in Proverbs chapter three to describe a proper relationship with God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart (v.5); acknowledge Him in all your ways (v.6); fear the Lord (v.7); honor the Lord (v.9) and do not despise the Lord’s discipline (v.11). These are action points for walking with God. They describe relationship not religion. They are also essential to the life of wisdom because the fear of the Lord is the ongoing prerequisite to a life of wisdom.

As our children grow older they begin to formulate goals and ambitions. When their goals are good ones, parents are wise to support them in them. But the best goals, devoid of deep devotion to God, are empty paths away from the rich wisdom God offers to those who seek him in all things. Remember also that in Jesus “...are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).

For further study of Proverbs 3:5-12, see the following audio links:

Five Essentials For Walking With God (Part 1)

 ·March 2, 2008  Download Sermon (7.26 mb)

Five Essentials For Walking With God (Part 2)

 ·March 9, 2008  Download Sermon (9.53 mb)

Five Essentials For Walking With God (Part 3)

March 16, 2008   · Download Sermon (9.82 mb)

For further study on wisdom:

1.     What does I Kings 3:6-14 tell us about the importance of wisdom?

2.     What does James 1:5 teach about the source of wisdom? What is the specific application in the context of James 1:2-4?

3.     List and discuss the differences between the two sources of wisdom described in James 3:13-18.

4.     What does Proverbs 2:6 imply about the source of wisdom in relation to the Bible (see also: II Timothy 3:16-17)?

Verses for further reflection:

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body, And refreshment to your bones” (Proverbs 3:7-8).

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10)

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and ignorance and the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate" (Proverbs 8:13).

“The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor and life” (Proverbs 22:4).

Extra assignment:

Read chapter 5, The Way of Wisdom from: “Guard Us, Guide Us” by J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom, BakerBooks, 2008.