Day 78: First prize - Proverbs 4 vs 1 - 9

1-2 My children, listen when your father corrects you. Pay attention and learn good judgement, for I am giving you good guidance. Don’t turn away from my instructions. 3 For I, too, was once my father’s son, tenderly loved as my mother’s only child.

4 My father taught me, “Take my words to heart. Follow my commands, and you will live. Get wisdom; develop good judgement. Don't forget my words or turn away from them. 6 Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you. 7 Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgement.

8-9 If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honour you. She will place a lovely wreath on your head; she will present you with a beautiful crown.” Proverbs 4:1-9 New Living Translation

What does this father say in vs 8-9 that wisdom would do for his children?

Honour, a wreath, a crown! Those are all pictures of a winner – someone who gets first prize. It's the very opposite of being a loser. But this father wasn't thinking about sports or academic achievements. Yes, it can be great to win trophies and prestigious awards – but he was thinking of something more important - winning in the race of life. He was talking about being a good parent, being someone who is known for integrity, being someone whose life doesn't go off the rails. Someone who at the end of life's journey can say as the apostle Paul said “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and have remained faithful. Now the prize awaits me - the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8) That's a prize worth aiming for.

But what do vs 8-9 say about how we will get this prize that the father speaks of?

He speaks there of making wisdom the thing we most value, and clinging to it throughout our days. Getting the first prize in life depends very much on what we prize first in life.

What do vs 1-2 suggest is an important thing we should do if we want to get wisdom?

We need to be willing to be corrected and taught by those who are wiser. This should start when we are young by listening to our parents. Tragically, not everyone grows up in a home like the writer describes in vs 3. But the good news of the gospel is that if we never had a father or mother who loved us dearly, we do have a Father in heaven and a Saviour who love us more than any parent on earth can do. But it leads us to what the writer says in vs 4-7 about what a good parent in the home should be doing for their children.

We see there the father earnestly teaching his children about the value of wisdom. Obviously it’s not only the father who can teach this - mothers are just as capable and very often they do it the most. But the verse reminds us that fathers should not leave it to the wife. Little boys and girls need a father’s input as well. And this teaching doesn’t have to be a rigid thing. When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt he told them it was very important that they teach their children about all the wonderful things God had done, as well as the wise laws God had given the nation. But look how he puts it in Deuteronomy 11:8-21. He says:

“Commit yourselves wholeheartedly to my words . . tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead to remind you. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home, and when you are on the road; when you are going to bed, and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates . . . so that you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.”

Teaching wisdom to children should be a natural part of our everyday conversation (even with visual aids when we can). The important things is for them to come to understand that the first prize of a blessed life depends on what they will prize first in their life. And that’s true for me and you as well.