Don't be a fool!

One of my favorite books of the Bible is Proverbs. Solomon, son of David, and in many ways the greatest King of Israel, authored this book in order to pass along to his son the wisdom he had attained. Such is the wish of any good Dad. We examine our lives, see the mistakes we have made, and try to teach our children to avoid the painful experiences we have lived through.

I am no different. How I wish my sons would listen and take to heart the words I share. Sometimes they do, but all too often these young men think of Dad as being a little old fashioned and out of touch. Unfortunately, they have made many of the mistakes I warned them about and learned a little too late that Dad understands things better than they thought . . . right up to the next time they decide to ignore my advice. It's not that I think I have all the answers -- the Lord (and my wife) knows I certainly don't. However, 51+ years of life experiences have left their bruises on my life, and I have learned some valuable lessons. I have also been a student of human life and learned much from observing the mistakes and wise moves of others.

No doubt my sons will experience many difficulties during the relatively short time they traverse this planet. So many of the hard times are simply beyond our control. We cannot dictate all of our circumstances. Go allows us to encounter those things in order to produce a character in us that is more like Christ's and to allow us to give evidence of our faith to a world which doubts the sincerity of our relationship with Him. However, God tries to give us what we need to avoid bringing things on ourselves that are so unnecessary. His Word, the Bible, is one of those things (and the most important) He gives us as a source of wisdom. Another is the advice of godly parents.

It is my intention to "camp out" in the book of Proverbs for a while and seek to remind us all of some of the sage advice Solomon had to share. Solomon, declared as being the wisest man of all time, came about this wisdom because it was the deepest desire of his heart.
"That night, there in Gibeon, God appeared to Solomon in a dream: God said, 'What can I give you? Ask' . . . (Solomon responds) And now here I am: God, my God, you have made me, your servant, ruler of the kingdom in place of my father. I'm too young for this, a mere child! I don't know the ropes, hardly know the 'ins' and 'ours' of this job. And here I am, set down in the middle of the people you've chosen, a great people -- far too many to ever count.
Here's what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who on their own is capable of leading your glorious people?
God, the Master, was delighted with Solomon's response. And God said to him, 'Because you have asked for this and haven't grasped after a long life, or riches, or the doom of your enemies, but you have asked for the ability to lead and govern well, I'll give you what you've asked for -- I'm giving you a wise and mature heart! There's never been one like you before; and there'll be no one after. As a bonus, I'm giving you both the glory and wealth you didn't ask for -- there's not a king anywhere who will come up to your mark. And if you stay on course, keeping your eye on the life-map and the God-signs as your father David did, I'll also give you a long life!" (1 Kings 3:5, 7-14)

This would seem to indicate that God loves to give wisdom to those who ask. In fact, it so pleases Him that He is willing to throw in all kinds of blessings we don't seek. Tune in to my future blogs as we dig into the treasure chest of God's wisdom!