Purveyors of God's Wisdom

by Kirby Williams

Text: Proverbs 1:8-9
Date: 01/27/2010.
Series: "Proverbs" Part 9

A young boy walks past his father on the way to the bathroom. When the father sees where his son is headed, he immediately jumps up from his couch to help him. The observer quickly realizes that the young boy is of "potty-training" age and is learning to use the family's "facilities". Being a good "dad", the father heads to the bathroom with his son to assist and encourage him in his newfound endeavor. But the careful observer detects something wrong with this familiar parent-child scene. There is a look of total innocence on the father's face rather than on the son's, and a look of "knowing" on the son's face rather than on the father's. The child is up to something, and the father is "none the wiser". The father is surprised when he reaches the door at the exact same time his son slams it in his face and locks the door from the inside.

Our eyes are directed to the father, who surmises that his young son wants to accomplish the task before him all by himself. As a good, and loving father would, he hovers right at the door, listening for what he expects his son to be doing; imagining the scene that is happening on the inside of the locked door. Thinking the best of his son, he places a hand on the door as if to reach through it and pat him on the head and says, "I'm proud of you".

Everything is as it should be. A loving father, and an obedient son. It is the perfect illustration of a father teaching his son the fundamentals of living. But then the TV advertisement takes a sinister, if not downright wicked turn. For this little boy has not locked himself in the bathroom to accomplish the task his proud father expects. But rather, he takes a towel and drops it on the floor, pulls a tiny portable TV out of his back pocket (the product being sold), and proceeds to watch his favorite television show in private. His delighted giggles indicate there is no remorse for the deception, no sorrow for breaking his father's trust. But rather his rebellion is de facto exonerated as his little mind is "sucked into" the nonsensical TV program that he wants to watch.

We are supposed to be amused at the deception in this little scenario. We are supposed to find the child's sneakiness and breech of relationship as cute and cunning. But most disturbingly, we are supposed to accept the subliminal message that fathers are somewhat simple-minded and easily duped. There is no need for the child to listen to him. What really matters is to get what he wants, regardless of the means. Truth is better found in the tiny TV set than from his hapless father.

We have been talking in previous "Pastor's Corners" about wisdom. We have just discussed the origin of wisdom, which is God-- the source of all that is truly good for us. If we were able to live completely by God's plan as we were designed to do in the Garden, then our lives would be without mishap. We would live "good", rich and full lives. To live God's way is ultimately wise and leads to a more joyful existence. Unfortunately, because of our sin, we cannot live that way--so life is filled with the sorrow and suffering of the consequences of sin.

But now Solomon turns to talk a little about the transference of that wisdom. How has God planned to pass His wisdom from generation to generation so that the lives of His people will be more Godly? This is the core thought of our next set of verses in Proverbs...

Prov. 1:8-9 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

Sometimes humanity has been described as a massive quilt with each little segment of the quilt an individual person. What holds the quilt together? What is the stitching that forms the bond that keeps the quilt from coming unraveled? It is the family! At the very core of God's sociological plan for the happiness, and well-being of His people is the family. For it is through the family that God intends to have His wisdom passed from one generation to another. If this "glue" is firmly in place, then wisdom will prevail (remember, we're talking about God's wisdom) and life will be better because it will more closely reflect the knowledge of God. If the threads are broken, then each generation will have to learn God's wisdom all over again for themselves, which usually means taking hard knocks as mistakes are made and consequences are suffered that could have been avoided.

Just imagine you are the arch enemy of God, and your ultimate desire is to destroy His Kingdom. Where would you focus your efforts? Where would you attack the fortress? Where could you inflict the maximum damage to the "quilt" of humanity? The answer is obvious: the family! If I were trying to keep people from becoming wise, to impede their understanding and keep them in darkness, I would concentrate my efforts on the mechanism that God has established for communicating enlightenment.

That is why I find the commercial described above particularly distasteful. That's why I think thousands of other commercials just like it, along with TV shows, movies, books, magazines, the pop culture, etc., are so damaging. That is why I consider all attempts of the Enemy (no matter how subtle or seemingly harmless) to undermine the family and teach children from an early age to ignore their parents, to be strategies straight "from the pit of hell".

Unfortunately, you will never fully isolate your children or grand children from Satan's tricks, no matter how vigilant you are. So you need to spend time alerting them to the tricks as they are being played out before their eyes. Beat Satan at his own game! Educate them about his subversive tactics and help them identify the way he operates. When you see a commercial like this, talk to your child about the subliminal message of rebellion. Point it out to them! The earlier you start this process the better. Remember, you are the purveyors of God's wisdom, responsible for the passing of that wisdom on to your children and grandchildren. So it makes sense that Satan will attack both you and your little ones to keep the transfer from occurring. To foil his plans and keep him from being successful will be a lifelong struggle-- but one for which the stakes could not be higher!

Blessings.

-pastor kirby