Posted on 12/19/2019 6:56:26 AM PST by Pilgrim's Progress
“The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD” (Proverbs 19:3).
“The foolishness of man perverteth his way,” that is messing around and not concentrating on the important things of life. We need to go to the New Testament before we find Jesus Christ showing that a thing doesn’t have to be actually done in order to call it sin. Anger at a brother without a cause is counted by God as murder and looking at a woman with thoughts of lust is considered as the act of adultery. But here we have an Old Testament example of mere thoughts being sin: “The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men” (Proverbs 24:9). The bar is set very low for a fool to be condemned.
A fool does nothing worthy, they profit nothing, and they gain nothing for you as an individual. They do not build character, they do not build morals, they do not strengthen righteousness—they only know foolishness, and their way is perverted. Fools walk in the wrong way, and it is all because of their foolish beginnings that no one corrected, if possible. Not all fools allow themselves to be redirected in their folly. How can a fool be straightened out? It starts in their early days of life.
“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15).
A child does not do things necessarily the right way, or the wrong way. They do things their own way. There is a certain degree of conformity that needs to be instilled in that child. This does not mean that you punish the poor guy for writing with his left hand, instead of his right because that is the way he was born. I’m left-handed, and I went to parochial school—enough said? When they are young, establish for them a right way and drill it into them over and over and over and he will conform to that right way. The foolishness will be driven from him, and after a certain period of time, he will be able to do it on his own.
Kids may have a good heart and are obedient to an extent, but I don’t think anyone has ever found a spiritual kid. There are a lot of selfish, me-first, and me-only children out there. If you plant a sapling tree out in your yard, you have to make sure that it doesn’t lean but that it grows straight. You will often use a stake and a guy rope and gradually tighten it to pull the leaning tree upright. The Word of God and loving discipline are the guide wires for the young child.
It is too late to wait until they are 14, 15, 16 years old because by then you have an adult-sized young person with the mind of a child, and if they are crooked there is little you can do with them at that point. Only God can truly form character, but He shares the task with loving parents that assist in the nurturing process.
Otherwise “his heart fretteth against the LORD,” or he is agitated at God. They say, “God expects this, but I don’t know how to do it!” That is because as a child no one gave him to tools to live right and now they are confused, and anxious.
Let’s read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let’s keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread!
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