Proverbs 1:1-9 – Parents
What is the foundation of wisdom? Where do you start when you want to get wisdom? Solomon tells us that you start with the fear of the Lord. But what is the fear of the Lord? It is the loving respect and obedience the child of God gives his Heavenly Father. It is a desire to make God happy and a carefulness to do nothing that would displease Him. Wisdom begins with having a right heart toward God. And this is exactly why fools have no desire for wisdom. What is a fool? Well, Psalm 14:1 defines a fool as a man who says there is no God. A fool is one who has no interest in God, no faith in God. So, of course, a fool will not care how God says he should live. A fool has no time for God’s definitions of right and wrong. A fool is not interested in wisdom.
Solomon now goes from stating the purpose and theme of his book to the actual teaching. Having said that wisdom, knowledge, and understanding begin with God, he moves on to those who usually are first in teaching us the things of God – our parents. Obviously, this is not always the case, but Godly parents are a tremendous source of wisdom. They are a blessing to those who have them, and they should be respected and honoured all our lives. If we want to be wise, we should listen to the teaching of those older and wiser than ourselves – this includes not only Godly parents, but those older believers in the church, who have a wealth of understanding that they could give us. This means that anyone can find within the church those who will be like Godly parents to them and should seek those people out. Parents and those older in the Christian faith have a huge responsibility as well to teach the things of God to others.
Questions
- What is the beginning of learning wisdom?
- What does it mean to fear the Lord?
- Where do we first learn the things of God?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for older believers and Godly parents.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.