Wisdom for the Day: Proverbs 6:20
Proverbs 6
20 My son, keep your father’s command
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them always on your heart;
fasten them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
There are ways to stop us falling into folly. Ways to stop our hearts from wandering and our feet from slipping and taking us down the wrong path. How many of us recall our parents teaching. They’ve been around the block, they’ve made the mistakes, they’ve seen the consequences and they have seen the benefits of being taught by their parents and so it goes from generation to generation, wisdom passed down the ages to keep the next generation safe and on the right track. These wise ones of the past had their faults and I am sure they wouldn’t deliberately pass these on to their children and their childrens children. What was passed on would have been sieved out and only the fine flower allowed to pass through.
The fine flower could be considered God’s word and his teaching and the lumps that are suitable only for discarding are mans folly, useless and fit only for the bin.
What is folly and what is wisdom. Holy Scripture is our sieve. The preceding verses of proverbs 6
16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
This behaviour’s fit only for the bin. Our protection is in binding God’s wisdom to our hearts so that wherever we go it is there. When we fasten it to our necks it directs the way we go, what we look at. When we walk it guides us, when we sleep it watches over us and when we are awake God’s word speaks to us. For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life.
Let it be our way of life!
