Proverbs 4:3-9 (MSG)
When I was a boy at my father’s knee,
the pride and joy of my mother,
He would sit me down and drill me:
“Take this to heart. Do what I tell you—live!
Sell everything and buy Wisdom! Forage for Understanding!
Don’t forget one word! Don’t deviate an inch!
Never walk away from Wisdom—she guards your life;
love her—she keeps her eye on you.
Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom!
Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding!
Throw your arms around her—believe me, you won’t regret it;
never let her go—she’ll make your life glorious.
She’ll garland your life with grace,
she’ll festoon your days with beauty.”
I am in love with this passage. In Proverbs 4 today Solomon is remembering his childhood. Do you remember who Solomon’s father was? King David. I love David. He’s remembered a lot for his adultery with Bathsheba and surely that was not wise but there was much more to David that was wise. God himself said he was a man after His own heart.
In these verses you see Solomon speaking fondly of learning wisdom from King David and then Solomon passing his wisdom on to his children.
The very wisest thing we can do as parents is teach our kids any ounce of wisdom we have. It’s harder for us to learn new ways and habits as adults but our children’s minds are malleable and so receptive to our teachings. When we teach them wisdom at this age, it becomes a part of who they are instead of something they need to learn later.
As we dig and search for God’s wisdom, let’s not forget that we need to pass it on. We ought to use every opportunity not to just tell them WHAT to do but be sure to pass on the WHY. We should be memorizing God’s word together and digging in while they are still young. Deuteronomy has a beautiful verse in 11:18-19
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.Teach them to your children,talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
I learned so much from my mom and I love that in everything I do, she’s always trying to pass on any wisdom she’s learned. She’s done this my whole life and I give her so much credit for my love of God’s wisdom. I fail to do these things with my girls so often but I hope that the love of God’s word is passed on to my children. (thanks, Mom!)
Even if your parents did not provide that for you, God through his Holy Spirit can teach you these wise things and show you how to pass them on and make a new path for your family. I’m praying it be so.