“The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.” Proverbs 10:1 (ESV)
“A foolish child is a grief to his father, and bitterness to the mother who bore him.” Proverbs 17:25 (NET)
August 2, 2023
Wisdom tells us that a husband and wife are to give careful attention to the rearing of their children. Proverbs is a book to help prepare young people for life. Its wisdom is centered in Christ (1 Cor. 1:24). Parents should become conversant in the teachings of wisdom and build them into the lives of their children. Wise children are not a guarantee, but if we seek to live as the Creator intended for us to live many of the complications sin creates can be avoided or corrected. The Word of God is the chief resource for child rearing. Scripture properly understood and applied consistently will keep us moving in the right direction. Also, we have to remember that proverbs are not laws without allowance for exceptions. Parents need to be wise themselves. But sometimes wise and good parents have foolish children who will break their hearts. Parents and children have their challenges: sinful choices a child may make and stubbornly defend those choices; outside influences, contrary winds, that may pull a child in the wrong direction. Those ungodly, contrary winds are blowing hard in our day. The intrusion of anti-Christian values being taught in public schools is a growing menace. What a joy it is when our children are living like keys on a piano being played in harmony with one another.
H
“O Lord God, raise up a generation of young people hungry to walk the path of wisdom.”