Deer in the Headlights

 Read Proverbs 7

If we stay on course, we will get to the proverb about bringing up a child in the way he should go in early December, but Solomon has done some prep work already.

First, let us consider the directions at the beginning of this chapter.

Keep my words.

Store up my commands.

Keep my commands.  Not only know what to do but do it.

Store up my teaching as your prized possession.

Bind them to your body.

Write them on your hearts.

Embrace wisdom as your sister.

Know that living by wisdom will keep you from many traps.

Solomon then says, “Once upon a time…”  Those are not his exact words, but he chose to teach using a literary tool that best resembles a fable.

Once upon a time, there was a young man who had not been educated in the ways of God.  He was simple and had no compass as to how to make everyday decisions.  He was ignorant of his God-given purpose, and he was just minding his own business as he drifted through life and as it so happened along the road that went by the crafty woman.

This woman had no doubt of her intentions and they were not of God.  She had made her choices as to how she would live her life and she would claim all of her victories and treasures in this world.

The young man that approached had the look of a deer in the headlights.  He had nothing to steer him clear of the danger that lurked in perfume and fine linen.  It was a most excellent trap for the naïve young man.

With persuasive words she led him astray;

    she seduced him with her smooth talk.

All at once he followed her

    like an ox going to the slaughter,

like a deer stepping into a noose

    till an arrow pierces his liver,

like a bird darting into a snare,

    little knowing it will cost him his life.

As in a fable, this story which has led to the destruction of a young man, has a moral. 

What moral?

Listen to my commands.  Embrace wisdom.  Do not just drift through life as there are many traps set especially for the naïve.

Here is your God-given map and compass.

Here is the macro-moral.  There is God’s way and there is everything else.  Learn God’s way early and stick to it all of your life.

There is something of a corollary in the beginning of chapter 6.  Do you remember?

If you find yourself in a trap, your first priority has become to get out of that trap.  Better yet, don’t wander into a trap. But if you find yourself there, chew off a leg if you have to and get out!

So, what’s in this for us?

I return once again to the most boring of topics—front-end analysis.  Victory in good decisions comes on the front end of the process.  God has already done the front-end analysis.  We don’t need to apply our own understanding to verify his analysis.  He got it right.

How do we accept his analysis and embrace God’s way over everything else?

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  Fools despise discipline.

If you revere God so highly that the fear of anything in the world pales in comparison, you have begun a journey that leads to knowledge that leads to wisdom that embraces the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

How do we decide to embrace God’s ways?  It begins with the fear of the Lord.  We know that fear is not our destination.  Perfect love casts out fear, but it is the beginning.

So, what is the lesson of this lesson?  Bring up your children in the way they should go.  Equip them to avoid the traps set by the world and to escape sooner than later if they wander into them.

What does it mean to work on the front end of the process?

For ourselves, we store up God’s commands and embrace his wisdom. We trust God and his ways over our own understanding.

For our children, we bring them up in the way they should go and we do it with passion and purpose knowing that there are traps in this world, but we can prepare them to make good decisions.

Those good decisions come based in trusting in the Lord and embracing his ways.

That means that our children don’t get to decide their own gender.  The one assigned by God is just fine.

Our children don’t get to define right and wrong.  God has done that. That doesn’t mean that there are not some hard lessons to be learned along the way.

We don’t leave our children to wander through the world.  We prepare them for the world with God’s instruction.

We will give them room to live, but not to wander aimlessly. We don’t kick them out the door with a good luck and hope everything comes out ok.

They may make some bad choices, but they won’t be out of ignorance of God’s ways.

We will always love and forgive and embrace our children, but we do bring them up in the way they should go and give them more than a fighting chance as they go into the world.

We teach them that the fear of the Lord is their starting point for knowledge, wisdom, instruction, and discipline.

Like Solomon, we charge our children with these or similar words.

Keep my words.

Store up my commands.

Keep my commands.  Not only know what to do but do it.

Store up my teaching as your prized possession.

Bind them to your body.

Write them on your hearts.

Embrace wisdom as your sister.

Know that living by wisdom will keep you from many traps.

We will talk more about this down the road, but for now, consider that it is our job to teach our children God’s ways.

The world does not hesitate to teach its ways and it will teach your child its ways at some point.

Will he or she already know the truth or will they be simple and vulnerable.

Our job is to help our children write God’s commands on their hearts.

Amen.