A Father's Instruction

In Proverbs 4 Solomon begins by saying "Hear my children the instruction of a father." And then he goes on to recall what his own father instructed him. King David instructed his son Solomon to keep his commands so that he can live a good life, to get wisdom and to get understanding. He told him not to forget nor turn away from the words of his mouth and not forsake them because they would preserve him. He told his son to love the wisdom he was sharing with him and to get all the wisdom he could. The reason that David could say such things to Solomon was because David was filled with the Word of God himself. So what he was instructing his son to do was to follow the words of God as he was following them. David was a role model loving God and being filled with God's wisdom. Therefore he could authoritatively tell his son to follow his instructions. The sad thing is that many fathers today even if they are christians are not living by the wisdom of God and therefore their instruction to their children is not always in line with the Word of God. We need to be fathers who are so filled with God's Word and with the Holy Spirit that our instructions come from the heart of God and not human reasoning.