Meditations

Proverbs 10:1; 13:24; 15:5,10,12; 19:13,18; 20:11; 22:6,15; 23:13-16; 29:17 — lots of teaching in The Book about training children correctly

CLP had this same lesson eight years ago! Click that link to read more of what I wrote for that lesson. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits from it…

• What should be my motivation in disciplining another?
• Is the “right” to discipline my child something I need to “earn”?
• Am I as open to being trained as I am to doing the training?
• How does God measure the success of my child training?
• What should be my attitude toward those parents who train differently than I do?

What should be among our chief aims in child training? Read it all

Proverbs 6:6-11; 10:2-5; 24:30-34 — listen to the Bible’s warnings against slothfulness!

It’s summer — get busy! — Proverbs and the Book of John record some of God’s serious warnings against slothfulness

I believe God had me (and you) in mind when He “wired” certain instincts into the ant. And then gave us strong warnings against slothfulness.

God gave us far higher intelligence and far greater capability for wisdom than He chose to give the ant. We ought to act according to deliberate choices guided by intelligence and wisdom, not mere instinctive programming.

God is addressing a certain type of immaturity or character flaw: lazy irresponsibility (Proverbs 6:6).

God has certain lessons He conveys by certain behaviors of an ant (Proverbs 6:7,8). Read it all

Proverbs 5:15-18; 6:23-35 — If you don’t safeguard your moral purity, who will?

First, some scattered thoughts I noted earlier in the week:

• Do not drink in sights and experiences which are not yours — not “out there,” not in your house, not on your digital device, not in your head (Proverbs 5:15).
• Don’t take your sexuality into the public domain. Don’t make a public display of your sexual vigor, drive, or need (Proverbs 5:16).
• A stranger here is not just someone you don’t know (Proverbs 5:17). It’s anyone you don’t have a right to know sexually.
• Satan and the world tell us something entirely contrary to this verse (Proverbs 6:23). They picture divine and godly reproof and restraint as repression and oppression. They paint commandments, laws, and correction as negative and counter-productive.
• God’s instructions and rules guard us from moral evil and immoral people (Proverbs 6:24). His commandments and teachings guard us from the seductive enticements of that evil and those people.
• We must choose not to indulge and nourish the desire for the undeniable beauty and attractiveness of that which does not belong to us — be it a person or a philosophy (Proverbs 6:25).

Read it all

Proverbs 3:1-18 — For, you does the worth of wisdom exceed all else?

This passage has two of what I like to think of as the Proverbs Beatitudesthe worth of wisdom for our character and spirit:

• “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding” (Proverbs 3:13).
• “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her” (Proverbs 3:18).

My heart needs a stronger bent toward wisdom. The pursuit of wisdom does not dominate my thinking, drive my doing, nor consume my life. Bible reading, meditation, and study occupy an extremely small portion of my day. Reading challenging, thought-provoking books and thinking about their message do not find a ready place in my day’s activities. Probing the life experiences and lessons in others . . . well, that rarely happens. Read it all

Proverbs 1:1-9, 20-23; 8:33-36 — Are you hearing instruction from parents and wisdom?

This passage talks about hearing instruction and heeding reproof and having the fear of the Lord.

Introductory questions to chew

What profit can I earn from receiving and hearing instruction?

Have I become so wise that I need not listen to another’s instruction?

I have knowledge; on what foundation shall I build with it?

What develops beauty in my character?

Is there anything that would cause me to turn from wisdom’s reproof?

How may I win God’s favor? Read it all