The Book of Proverbs: The Prologue

Readings: Proverbs 1:1-7

I have always been fascinated by the Book of Proverbs. It is indeed timeless. So, for the next several blog posts, I'm going to take a stroll through the Proverbs. I hope you'll enjoy the journey.

Verses 1-7:

"The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young--let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance--for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."

Anyone who has ever sat in a Sunday School class, attended Bible School, or listened to a church sermon has more than likely heard of Solomon. "The wisdom of Solomon" is something we strive for in our lives. When we think of the word wisdom, many times we think of Solomon. So, it stands to reason that looking to the words of Solomon would be good advice indeed.

Even in the prologue of the Book of Proverbs, we already see a the good advice beginning--suggestions on how to live our daily lives. The words discipline, understanding, doing what is right and just and fair...good recommendations to us all. There is little discipline, it seems, in our world today. People tend to do or say whatever comes to mind without weighing the consequences--as a result, there is a great deal of hurt between couples, between families, between friends, between neighbors. It is a shame.

Understanding words of insight is another piece of advice that seems to escape many these days. How many times do we truly not listen to the person speaking to us? Are we instead much too occupied with formulating the perfect comeback in our responses? Misunderstandings seems to rule the day.

Doing what is right and just and fair is rare. We have so very many laws these days that it is next to impossible to follow them all. On the other hand, more and more people seem to ignore all laws altogether--whether man-made or sacred. We have lost much of our trust in one another; we have lost confidence in the long-honored handshake; we swear left and right and don't take it seriously.

Giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young--the young among us are always in need of direction (no matter what they think). Young people can be easily misled by many things and many people. It's difficult to see through deceptions when life experience is the only teacher...and that experience has not yet had a chance to be learned. So, we try to achieve that delicate balance between being the wise teacher and the old know-it-all.

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance--for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline--I'm going to hope that most all of us are smart AND wise enough to listen closely and carry with us a healthy fear of the Lord. From time to time, we act the fool, despising wisdom handed to us in the form of being put into our places for our best interests. There doesn't seem to be an age limit on this; thankfully, it does seems to lessen as we age if we've paid attention along the way.

Solomon's proverbs are as ageless today as they were centuries ago...we would all do well to read and practice them in our daily lives.

Peace be with you.