The Apprentice Youth Pastor

I was recently challenged by a friend to read a chapter of Proverbs everyday for the month of March.  There are 31 days of March, and 31 chapters in Proverbs.  I wanted to document what I learned each day.  Proverbs is full of wisdom that is still relevant for today, no matter who you are, and where you walk with God is.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” - Proverbs 1:7

When we obey God, we obey the wisest being in the universe, the creator of all things, and the creator of wisdom.  God knows more than we ever will, and the more we think we know Him, the more we realize we are blown away by how much of a mystery He is.  He gave us rules to live by so we could be free from the confines of sin, by obeying Him, we are in fact, more wise.  When we disobey Him, we disobey His wisdom, and become fools.

“Listen my son to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” - Proverbs 1:8

Not only is God a source of wisdom, but so are the father, and mother figures He has placed in our lives.  They have lived through many on the things we have gone through, and they care about where our lives end up.  Parents are a source of wisdom, because they have experience.  We cannot become arrogant, our parents understand the consequences of our actions, because they have experienced them first hand.  We need to learn from their successes and failures, so we don’t make the same mistakes.

“My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.” - Proverbs 1:10

“Do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths.” - Proverbs 1:15

Friends are one of the biggest influences in our lives.  ”Friends are like elevators, they either bring you up, or bring you down.” [Nate Ruch].  Stay on good paths, don’t let friends dictate your decisions.

“For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.  But whoever listens to me will live in safety, and be at ease without fear or harm.” - Proverbs 1:31-32

Waywardness is stubborn disobedience, and complacency is satisfaction with what you have already done.  We cannot learn the wisdom of God, without being willing to change.  Stubbornness hinders our growth.  We cannot become satisfied with where we are, there is always something that needs to be done, somewhere we need to improve, and a lesson to always be learned.  When we get rid of stubborn complacency, we will be safe in the wisdom of God.