Fear, Obey, Protect

            Solomon, who we know to be the wisest man to ever live, presents to us wisdom that from thousands of years ago still applies today. Over the next several weeks, we will look at some things that Solomon was very adamant about when it came to having knowledge about some particular subjects. There are three in particular that I want to mention in this article. These are the first three pieces of wisdom Solomon presents to us in the book of Proverbs. Take a look at Proverbs 1:7-10. The three first pieces of wisdom are:

  1. Fearing the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
  2. Children, obey and learn from your parents.
  3. Do not let sinners take you down with them.

It’s interesting that these are the first three he mentions to us. We hear a lot that the book of Proverbs is for a mature audience while yet all three of these things apply to your children. Young people have a feeling of invincibility. They think that death is something that they can avoid and it will never fall upon them especially at this age. Part of fearing the Lord is knowing that He is in control. Part of fearing the Lord is knowing that your physical life is not intended to be eternal. Kids need to know that their physical life is not as important as their spiritual one because the spiritual life is eternal.

Children, obey your parents. They give you an opportunity to learn from the mistakes they made as children, so that you do not have to go through those same trials. Your parents are there to steer you right. They love you and want the best for your life, no matter what you think when they discipline you. It’s for your own good. Learn from fearing the Lord and from your parents.

We all need to be aware that there are people out to get us. We call these people “the world.” Protect yourself from these people. They do not understand fearing the Lord, learning from faithful parents, nor do they understand that being the world takes them farther away from God. We need to pray for these people and help them if we can. A lot of them might reject us, but there is usually one here and there that is lost and waiting to be found. Let’s make it our mission to put these messages of wisdom to the test.

-Mark Talbert-