1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
5 A wise [person] will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
First thoughts:
I am all for peaceful parenting! I love the heart of it; raising up our children in a peaceful home. But, there are times that peace needs to be disturbed. I read a quote today, "As long as the child will be trained not by love, but by fear, so long will humanity live not by justice, but by force. As long as the child will be ruled by the educator's threat and by the father's rod, so long will mankind be dominated by the policeman's club, by fear of jail, and by panic of invasion by armies and navies." ~Boris Sidis I immediately disagreed with this thought. Look at today's youth. We have made spanking (not hittinga child out of anger) not only socially unacceptable but down right criminal even in some states. Spanking is accused of causing emotional and psychological damage to children but the less we see of spanking, the worse our children are becoming. Spanking is for teaching but it is also for establishing fear of authority; not the fear that leaves one shaking in their boots so to speak but fear in the sense of respect. If there is no reverential fear, then what motivates anyone to respect an authority? Thus, we are raising up a generation of fools. They are quick to impulse and to please self and slow, if open at all, to being taught any other way than the way that they have chosen no matter how destructive that path may be. The peace in the home may need to temporarily be disturbed with a moment of discipline in order to see that there is a prolonged season of peace and order in the home and lives of those within that home. Certainly there are many ways to discipline that do not require spanking but fear and love go hand in hand. A child that is properly disciplined instinctively knows that they are truly loved even if they do not like the act of discipline. A child who is brought up in abuse is brought up in fear; fear of pain, fear of life even, and knows that there is no love. God disciplines us. It is not always easy and sometimes can be quite painful but God loves those that He disciplines and when we receive that correction with an open heart and a thankful heart and a heart willing to submit to His will and to repent, there is joy to be found, PEACE to be found in the discipline of our Heavenly Father. I fear my God but not as a dog who has been beat but as a criminal who stands before the highest judge that stands to pass the ultimate punishment but who offers forgiveness instead because of the Blood of Jesus Christ.
More thoughts to come....
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding
To recognize wisdom from folly and hose who are of greater wisdom and knowledge. To see truth and knowledge.
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity
To be teachable and to receive from those who are of greater wisdom and understanding. To know what is just and how to be just.
4 To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
To be able to give sound judgement to even the most simple of matters/people. To have the ability to make informed decisions which represent a responsible choice and for which an understanding of what is lawful, right or wise may be presupposed.
5 A wise [person] will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
In walking in wisdom, one is ever learning. For my life, I've been labeled and "eff'n know-it-all". I think others who are older become offended by someone younger than them actually having more knowledge on a topic than they. I am a sponge! I love to learn and make a whole-hearted attempt to not make an uniformed decision ESPECIALLY when it comes to my children. So, I read, read, read and read some more. But, just because I read it, doesn't mean I believe it. This is where the second part of this verse comes into play. I don't just read but I research and not for a day or a few days but months and even years, even when I've already formulated my opinion because new data is always there to be found. To properly educate yourself, you can't just believe everything you read or are told. You have to use "wise counsel" or you will be like a leaf in the wind.
No comments:
Post a Comment