Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? Job 12:12
I look back over my life and I see mistake, after mistake, after mistake. And most of them were just senseless mistakes, that I didn’t have to make. Even though I didn’t have parents who sat me down and told me why I should learn from their mistakes and who poured wisdom out on me, I could still see by how things turned out in their lives that mimicking their behavior was probably a mistake.
The sad part is, like many people who have/had parents who tried to guide them (but were disregarded), I don’t know that I would have listened if my parents had tried.
I think that there is an arrogance in youth that has to be fought, or it will be our undoing (at least for a season). My incredible husband, has said that the mistakes we make that cause the greatest harm in our lives are often made between the ages of 16 and 30 and we have seen that truth lived out in young people. In fact, my life resembled that truth.
King Solomon is a great example of what happens when we decide to disregard wisdom and the guidance of our parents (even their mistakes).
King Solomon’s Father was King David. And in 1 Samuel 13:14 (But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”) we see that David is called a “man after God’s own heart”. That is how closely He walked with God and how highly God thought of him.
But, King David falters, and in 2 Samuel 11, we see him lust after another man’s wife, impregnate her and kill her husband. Lusting after a woman, causes King David to walk away from all that God had told and taught Him. God had given Him the throne, great wealth and fame (even when, by tradition he wouldn’t have had a claim to it), and for a woman – he falters and ends up in great dread and heart break.
Then we see King Solomon living similarly. God provides Solomon with the throne and makes Him King. God offers him anything he desires and he asks for wisdom to rule the people God has given him. He sounds like a rock star, right? Enter women….we see in 1 Kings 11 that King Solomon disregards God’s teachings, disregards what happened to his father and he lusts after many women. Women that worshipped other gods and whom God had forbidden Israelites to marry. King Solomon would ultimately have 700 wives and 300 concubines. And in the book of Ecclesiastes we see him regretting a life lived out in futility. Chasing after things that just had no value. It was all “vanity”.
King Solomon had a tremendous example of what not to do in, King David, his father. He had been told by God and through His commandments what not to do, but he disregarded that wisdom. God gave him more wisdom than any other King and he repeats the mistake of his father.
When we are small our parent’s tell us, “don’t touch the stove, it is hot”. Throughout life they either tell us, or we see by the mistakes that they make, what we should and shouldn’t do. God’s word tells us what will benefit us and what will hurt us and we all, at various seasons in our lives, decide that we are going to touch that stove and learn from our own mistakes. Well, when you are ready to admit that it hurt, let me know and I’ll tell you the kind of salve that I used, when I made that (or a similar) stupid mistake. LOL
God has given us parents to learn from, He has given us His word, He has given us specific commands (Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. Proverbs 3:7; Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, Proverbs 1:8; Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Ephesians 6:1-3)
Yes, God has put earthly parents in our lives to heed, not because they deserve it, but because it is obedience to a Heavenly Father who does deserve our honor and obedience. He gave us the parents that we have/had because they had some good stuff for us (we may not know what that is, but He does ; ). He gave us parents and others in our lives to learn from. Both the things that they instructed us and also the mistakes that they made.
The greatest thing that He gave us to keep from making the mistakes of our fathers (and mothers) is His word. If we will simply be obedient to the Father who sacrificed His Son, that we could be called children of God, we won’t need salve : )
I pray that today we would thank God for those who had influence in our lives, both those who were good examples and those who were not so good. I pray that we would avoid some very costly mistakes, by gleaning wisdom from from the instruction of those around as as well as by the mistakes they have made. I pray that we would heed God’s word and His commandments and just be obedient. I pray that we would begin to dig deep into His word, that we would hide it in our hearts and that we would heed his commands. That we would honor, love and glorify Him with our whole hearts.
If you (like me) have needed salve for those burns you keep getting because you won’t heed the counsel you have been given and you have not submit to God and don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. I pray that, if you are tired of putting your hand on the hot stove and suffering the consequences, that you would go to our Life preserver page right now and pray the prayer that is outlined there. God wants to walk with you, He desires to speak into your heart and to hold your hand as you walk through this life (keeping you from making those painful mistakes), just like a good father would. Once you have prayed that prayer please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know so that I can be in prayer for you and can help you grow in your knowledge of and relationship with our Precious Savior, Jesus Christ.
Luv ya!
