Once I discovered it, the First Chapter of Proverbs has always held a strong ‘connection’ to me! One of the first songs that I wrote for the choir at Wesley Chapel (outside of Jacksonville, IL…) was based on it, and this ‘talk’, given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on Father’s Day, June 9, 2002, was ‘based’ on it as well!! Indeed, the second chapter of my book, ‘What We Learn’, is titled, ‘PROVERBS ONE’!!

 

A message that I saw on a poster some years ago impressed me enough to remember all these years. It said, in big bold letters, TEENAGERS! HURRY! LEAVE HOME TODAY…WHILE YOU STILL KNOW EVERYTHING!  It was one of those things that was intended as a joke but had enough truth in it to stick with you. Because I remember being a teenager…and I DID know everything! Only as the years have stacked up one on top of the other have I come to realize just how much I DON’T know!

I would like to think that most of us have gained enough experience over the years to realize that we don’t…that we can’t…know everything. Only through the eyes of youth does one feel invincible! Only through the eyes of youth does one feel all-powerful! And only through the eyes of youth does one see all of life’s answers! Let’s face it…it is only as we weave our way down our individual life paths that we begin to find chinks in our ‘armor’ of invincibility. We make mistakes…we learn…we try again. We make more mistakes! And with each passing year we learn more and more and more. And the more we learn, the more we realize how much there is still to learn. And then, some of us have children of our own…and the process starts all over again!

Solomon was about twenty years old when he became king of Israel. Not too long into his reign, he went up to the hilltop of Gibeon, one of the largest alters at that time, and offered up 1000 burnt offerings. 1 Kings 3:5-9 tells us what happened next…

The Lord appeared to him in a dream that night and told him to ask for anything he wanted, and it would be given to him!

 Solomon replied, “…I am as a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am among your own chosen people, a nation so great that there are almost too many people to count! Give me an understanding mind so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. For who by himself is able to carry such a heavy responsibility?”

 Now what do you suppose God thought about that? The next verse says…

The Lord was pleased with his reply and was glad that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So he replied, “…yes, I’ll give you what you asked for! I will give you a wiser mind than anyone else has ever had or ever will have!

Then in chapter 4:29-34 we read…

God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and a mind with broad interests. In fact, his wisdom excelled that of any of the wise men of the East, including those in Egypt. He was wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he was famous among all the surrounding nations. He was the author of 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He was a great naturalist, with interest in animals, birds, snakes, fish, and trees-from the great cedars of Lebanon down to the tiny hyssop which grows in cracks in the wall. And kings from many lands sent their ambassadors to him for his advice.

Now, one may well argue the case that Solomon must have been fairly wise to start with to perceive the situation that he was facing and ask for wisdom from God. He had already had to deal harshly with those who had been against his becoming king and plotted against him, even to the point of condemning them to death when they failed to honor the house arrest he had sentenced them to. (The book of Kings has some very interesting reading in it. You should all check it out sometime.) So Solomon already had some idea of what it was going to take to be an effective king. And he knew that to succeed, he was going to need God’s help! So when God offered him anything that he might desire, he asked for wisdom. He asked for the ability to determine right from wrong. And God was so pleased with his choice that He gave him, according to this account, “a wiser mind than anyone else has ever had or ever will have!”

At some point, Solomon decided to try to share his wisdom with others, and set down to write. Some of these writings are collected together in the Book of Proverbs. Our verses today are the first chapter. And his reason for writing them, he states, is “to make the simpleminded wise! I want to warn young men about some of the problems they will face. I want those already wise to become wiser and become leaders…”

His words were for everyone, but he especially wanted to reach the ‘young men’…the youth…of his kingdom, and to make leaders out of everyone. Because the young people of that time were just as much a part of his future as the young people of today are part of ours!

[My wife] and I went down to Silver Dollar City last weekend [2002]. We arrived early and set down to watch the pre-opening show that they do in the bandstand area at the top of the hill. On this day, they had a troupe of girls from Utah doing clog dancing. These girls ranged in age from around twelve to nineteen. And they were very good! Their show consisted of telling about the ‘trip’ that they took around the country on their way to Branson, and showing some of the different dance steps that came from different areas. They performed Canadian and southern style clogging, danced in wooden shoes from Holland, MI, and performed various Irish line dances, to name just a few. And at the end of their program, the announcer came out to sing their praises. And then he added, “Many people seem to be worried about the kids of today’s generation. But if these girls are any indication, I think they’re going to be aright!” And the crowd went wild.

But as I was applauding I couldn’t help but wonder about what he had said. I have worked with a lot of kids over the years, from driving school buses and helping with theatre projects to working with our own youth group at Wesley Chapel. I have taught small groups at the Youth Annual Retreat, and been on three mission trips, the last of which I built from the ground up (with a little help from my ‘[wife]/secretary’). So I feel like I know a little bit about kids. I may not always know how to reach them, but I do know a little about how they think and feel, even when they think I don’t got a clue! After all, I still remember my teenage escapades at church camp and the Christmas and Easter studies that I attended. Not everything that I did would have been considered ‘Christian’!

So as I looked at this group of teenage girls and thought about them being on their own for an extended period of time, I couldn’t help but wonder about what kind of example they might actually be living. Because the way that they are actually living their lives is determined by the education that they have received up to this point. And frankly, unless that education has been steeped in the Bible, I have strong reservations about their character. And that was just as true in Solomon’s time as it is today!

Solomon knew that to make his kingdom strong he needed strong people. He needed people who were not only strong individuals, but people who were also strong in their following of the Lord! He knew that the key to a successful life is a firm foundation in God. So his very first step in becoming wise is “to trust and reverence the Lord!” But his second direction is almost as important. “Listen to your father and mother,” he writes. “What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will win you many honors.”

Today is ‘Father’s Day’, and last month we celebrated ‘Mother’s Day’. And both of these days are intended to honor our parents for the job that they have done in raising us. A very noble cause, even if it sometimes seems to benefit retailers more than anyone else! But I would like to use the day as an excuse to put it to you that we, as parents, have more of an obligation to our children than just raising them. We have an obligation to raise them with a firm background and belief in the Lord! And furthermore, I put it to you that that obligation extends beyond just our own children…it includes grandchildren, nieces and nephews, neighbors and friends. In short, it is our obligation to see to it that ALL children are raised with a firm background and belief in the Lord!

Some decades ago there was a religious sect known as the Shakers. They were well respected for their very firm beliefs and stout enforcement of them, as well as for the strong communities that they established, and the furniture pieces that they built for themselves and to sell as a source of support. One of their beliefs was a complete separation of men and women. This even extended to their meeting places. There were two doors, one for the men and one for the ladies, and they sat on opposite sides of the room. They’re not around anymore. They all died off! They never had any children to teach and train to follow in their footsteps. And if we are not careful, the same exact thing will happen to us! Not because we didn’t have children, but because we failed to bring them into the church. We failed to bring them into the arms of Jesus!

There is not a person in this building today who doesn’t possess at least some of the wisdom of Solomon. And there is not a child in this county that couldn’t be helped with some of that wisdom! Whether it’s supporting the Food Center, doing volunteer work at the schools, or any number of other possibilities, every child could benefit from some of the accumulated wisdom in this room. But even more than that, we need to get them into this building! We need to get them to see and know the God that we know! We need to teach them about Christ!

Now, I’m sure that most of you are thinking ‘Yes, yes, all of that’s true, but what can we here in the little town of Lynnville do about it?’

Well, you can start by seeing to it that all of your own children are here, for one thing, along with all of the grandkids! Then work on the neighbors…your friends…your coworkers! And we need to be ‘children friendly’. We need to encourage them to attend Sunday school. If we get enough of them coming here we could start our own program up again! We could do a Vacation Bible Study for all of the Lynnville area! We could set up some special concerts and/or meetings aimed at getting a younger crowd in here. But most of all, we can talk to them!

It is very true that most teenagers seem to think that they already know more than their parents. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t want to learn! At Silver Dollar City I saw two teenage boys with their grandparents. And they were going from craft to craft and item to item asking them what this was or what that did. And I have to admit that from the little that I overheard, the answers weren’t always correct. But the boys were listening! Sometime ago, [my wife] and I were at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, MI. I chanced upon an exhibit in the robotics section that looked very familiar. I had approached it from the rear and so didn’t see the sign at first, but I knew it was the main engine and transmission section of a Case tractor being shown with one of the robotic arms that are used to paint them in the factory at Racine! I knew because I had seen them during a tour of the factory many years ago. As I was standing there, a group of high school boys on a school field trip walked up and were trying to figure out what it was and what it did. I told them! And I told them with such excitement and enthusiasm that they actually seemed to listen to me.

We need to be excited and enthusiastic about our faith! We need to be excited and enthusiastic about our God! And we need to be excited and enthusiastic about our youth! Solomon warns us about what will happen if we don’t. Talking to them, he says, “Some day you’ll be in trouble, and I’ll laugh! …When a storm of terror surrounds you, and when you are engulfed by anguish and distress, then I will not answer your cry for help

For you closed your eyes to the facts and did not choose to reverence and trust the Lord, and you turned your back on me, spurning my advice. That is why you must eat the bitter fruit of having your own way and experience the full terrors of the pathway you have chosen. For you turned away from me-to death; your own complacency will kill you.”

If the day comes that sees us alone…if the day comes that we have no one to help us…if the day comes that we see this building empty, and God’s word not being taught…then we have no one to blame but ourselves. Because it is our responsibility to bring in and educate the next generation…and the next…and the one after that…in the way of the Lord! It is our responsibility to see to it that that education IS steeped in the Bible, and that the lives that they live reflect that. And it is ALSO our responsibility to see to it that they pass that education on to THEIR children! What you do or don’t do is up to you. And it is between you and God. But you know what? Once you get started, it’s really a lot of fun!!