Proverbs 4:10-17
Raising
children is one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences in life. It
brings more joys and sorrows than almost any other relationship responsibility.
Kids don’t come with an instruction manual. We have to figure it out on our
own. Or do we?
Our passage today speaks of a parent trying
to lead their child in the right direction. The benefits of following his
instruction are great. Read back through the passage a list them. The first
four verses (vv10-13) have the benefits in the second half of each verse. But
how can we know for sure that if we follow wisdom we will get these benefits? I
know some very wise, very faithful people who have died of cancer.
Take a look at these verses again. The
benefits of this wisdom have to do with our walk in life. Wisdom will keep us
from making really stupid choices. We won’t shorten our lives prematurely, take
all the side roads, stumble, or miss out on real life. Think for a moment about
some of those side roads you have taken, some of those things you regret, the
things that you would do differently if you could go back and do them again.
Wisdom would have helped you to avoid those mistakes.
For sure, you can learn from mistakes, but
you can learn from successes as well. Mistakes are not the only repository of
wisdom. Getting it right the first time can teach great lessons as well, and
without the pain. So don’t glorify the mistakes. Don’t excuse the side road by
saying you learned from it. Side roads are a net loss.
The second half of our passage (vv14-17)
gives a glimpse of the path of someone who rejects God’s wisdom. We might think
that doing evil has no down side. But they are driven to evil (v16). Instead of
being in charge of their lives, doing evil becomes the boss. Like a cocaine
addict, their life becomes consumed by the next fix of evil. They lose control
of their own lives.
The everyday activities move to the side and
take on a different flavor when evil is in charge. Like the food and drink we
consume, evil becomes what sustains the evil person.
You might say this sounds extreme, but it
isn’t. Evil is like metastatic cancer. It will consume all of you over time.
So choose wisdom. It enriches and fulfills
over time. You get to choose which end result you want. Choose wisely and
follow through on the choice, moment by moment, day by day. You won’t regret
wisdom.