Proverbs 4:1-27

Proverbs 4:1-27

One of the harbingers of a collapse of any nation or culture is the failure of men to be godly leaders. We see it when boys become feral; they have no moral compass, no work ethic, and no reason to exist but the satisfaction of their own appetites. They are useless, and they become slaves to their own passions and operate out of a lawless worldview. This occurs long before the more visible breakdown of marriage, education, economic strength, or national or moral framework. 

What is the beginning point of boys becoming feral young men? It is when fathers fail to teach wisdom and righteousness to the next generation. Notice in verse 1 the plural "sons," but in verse 3 it is singular. The father teaches all his sons wisdom, but each boy feels a singular responsibility; he can't count on anyone else, not even his brothers, to hold the standard of righteous wisdom. 

How can you tell when a boy gets it? This may be the most underappreciated marker of the passage into manhood. It is when he wants wisdom. In verse 7 we see the first marker. The fountainhead of wisdom is the desire for wisdom. When a boy develops the intrinsic desire for wisdom, he has marked a change in his life.

This is critical because his dad is not always going to be there, and sooner or later hard times will come. When, not if, difficulty surfaces, wisdom will keep a young man from failure. Verses 13-14 describe this experience of the coming of difficult times. It is easy to walk or make good decisions in flat open spaces, but the moments of hardships make a fall much more likely. Wisdom is an advantage in good times, but it is critical in the hard moments. Without the strong moral foundation of wisdom, it is highly likely that we will fall into moral failure in the company of evil men, verse 14.

This requires lifelong vigilance. The acquisition of moral wisdom/righteousness is never a one-and-done kind of thing. It requires a lifelong commitment to make sure our hearts or will are oriented in the right direction. Failure in later years is possible unless the heart is consistently directed back to wisdom. This begins for a man in his youth.

“Lord, help prepare the next generation with godly fathers who will teach them wisdom. AMEN.”