Solomon recognized a tragic truth about humanity: we desperately want to do things our own way, and we hate being told what to do. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6 NIV1984). So Solomon urged his sons to avoid mistakes he had made, encouraging them to heed God’s Word and to make obedience a lifelong habit.
Read MoreTag Archives: Proverbs
Bound to Memorize
Solomon offered several insights about the value of placing God’s Word at the center of our lives. Let’s begin with Proverbs 4:4, where the wise king recalled the instruction of his own father, David: Then he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live.” Take note of the words hold fast.
Read MoreKeep It between the Lines
Having convinced us of the importance of guarding our hearts, Solomon urged three specific actions to make this practical. We’ve considered the first: we are to ignore false directions (v. 24). As we said earlier, if someone you have regular contact with habitually gives you information that contradicts your road map or GPS, drop him off at the next truck stop and don’t look back!
Read MoreGood Directions
By now, I trust that Solomon has sufficiently motivated you to guard your heart from invasive, detrimental influences and to cultivate a hunger for knowledge of God. Hopefully, we possess adequate discernment to distinguish between helpful and harmful input. If not, deeper knowledge of God is readily available through His Word. If you are reading these pages, you are most likely reading the Scriptures.
Read MoreOn Guard!
Our study of Solomon’s fatherly advice has helped us appreciate the importance of guarding our heart, our inner self. He then explains why. The conjunction for could be translated “because.” The Hebrew word typically indicates an answer to the question why. We must guard the heart because “from within it” something extremely important occurs.
Read MoreYour Greatest Treasure
As we examine Solomon’s counsel on the importance of guarding one’s heart, note that he again directs his words to “my son.” Because the Holy Spirit preserved this passage for us, we now benefit from Solomon’s wise fatherly advice. Observe his comment about inclining your ear to his sayings and keeping them “in the midst of your heart” (v. 21). Very interesting!
Read MoreA Life-or-Death Matter
Make no mistake! Your heart is under siege. Like marauding hordes surrounding a fortress, advertisers, porn moguls, and media mavens scheme to find a point of entry. They lob projectiles and drop subtle baits, looking for weaknesses, and shout taunts, hoping to gain an entrance. They want in so they can bring you under their subjection. At first glance, you may think I’m being overly dramatic.
Read MoreStinkin’ Thinkin’
Sunday, we examined two reasons why people fail to heed the counsel of wisdom—found either in Scripture or other sources—when making choices. Some stubbornly resist wisdom because they are strong-willed and refuse to surrender. Others simply fail to hear wise counsel due to insensitivity. Today, we encounter two additional factors. Indifference “You neglected all my counsel” (1:25).
Read MoreFailure to Yield
Solomon pleaded with his son—and, by extension, with all of us—to heed the warning voice of wisdom. A good question is, why? Why must Solomon plead? Why do we ignore God’s reproofs, those in Scripture as well as those that come through other means? Looking back at the sayings preserved for us in Proverbs 1, I discover at least four reasons we do not heed reproof.
Read MoreOut of the Mouths of Babes
Divine reproofs aren’t limited to Scripture. While Scripture is God’s primary instrument of communication, He will use any means necessary to get our attention when we’re headed in the wrong direction. On other occasions, reproofs come verbally from those who care about us, including parents, friends, children, mates, employers, neighbors, a policeman, a teacher, a coach . . . any number of people.
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