Posted on 04/17/2020 6:44:23 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Proverbs 17:21-22).
“He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow,” every baby born into this world has the potential of being a fool. They are born in sin and “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15). Just don’t let that child grow up to be what he is born to be. In other words, sorrowful is the father that doesn’t correct his child while it is still young enough to matter.
A child is born to be a fool; but teach him, instruct him, love him, guide him, direct him, mold him, and take time with him. One preacher said, “The best way to spell LOVE is T.I.M.E.” You don’t let him run amok and do his own thing, you put reins on him and put walls up that he is not to go beyond. Give him security, discipline and love.
How does a father raise a son to his own sorrow? He just needs to leave the kid alone and let him grow up to be whatever he is going to be, like the psychologists and the modern philosophers tell us to do, and he’ll be sorry.
“. . . and the father of a fool hath no joy,” David was the father of Absalom and Amnon, and they both brought him sorrow. David didn’t do right by those boys. He didn’t raise them the way he should have. You can see that by the way that David treats Absalom when he comes back into Jerusalem—David wouldn’t talk to him, would not see him. He should have forgiven him and welcomed him home like the Prodigal Son’s father, but he failed. In many ways it can be argued that David forced his boy into rebellion. David reaped his own sin with Absalom. Eli had some bad kids too, and Samuel failed with his sons as well.
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine,” the underlying truth to this thing is, just don’t lose your sense of humor. Reader’s Digest probably had it right when they said, “Laughter is the best medicine.” It probably is. Just don’t get so tight, and so serious, that nothing is ever funny anymore. You can’t do that. You just have to have a period where you laugh and just have a good time.
Just don’t look to late night comedians to furnish you with reasons to laugh. Those blasphemers will see you in an early grave if you laugh at their blasphemous humor. Go to camp meetings, they usually have a good time there. Also, there are some pretty good Christian comedians. But one of the best sources for humor is often yourself. Learn to laugh at yourself. Fellowship with your brethren in the Lord and find some things to laugh at. “Rejoice with them that rejoice” (Romans 12:15).
You just have to keep your sense of humor. The problems and the pressures of this life will get you down—you just better laugh at some things.
“. . . but a broken spirit drieth the bones,” it will kill you. A doctor will tell you, especially when you grow old, that if you lose the spirit to live, you will die.
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