Does father really know best? – Proverbs 4

At the beginning of the fourth chapter of Proverbs, the writer repeats his admonition to his son, “Listen to me!”

This time around, though, he shares with his reader a sampling of his credentials, “For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. Then he taught me.”

Here, Dad reminds his son that he has been in the place where his son now stands. Once, he too was a young man making a serious choice, “Should I listen to my father’s advice or should I go my own way?”

Can we trust the wisdom of those who have gone before us? Are we willing to make the best choices, or only the easiest ones?

We all stand at that crossroads regularly. Every day we make choices that affect our lives for better or for worse. The book of Proverbs admonishes us to choose wisely.

It is up to us to seek after wisdom and value it as something precious.

It is up to us to train our minds so that the wisest choice becomes second nature.

The important thing to realize is that we are not alone when making these choices. We have the wisdom of the wisest here in Proverbs and elsewhere in the Bible, we have the fellowship of friends and family, and we have the words of God, who speaks to us by the Holy Spirit to lead us in the way we should go.

If you are reading Proverbs regularly, you are already on the right track!

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