Proverbs 4:3-5

“When I was a son to my father, tender and the only son before my mother, then he instructed me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live; Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget and do not turn away from the sayings of my mouth.”

This proverb gives us a picture of a concerned and committed father to his son through his instructions and guidance. The culture around us teaches many parents that money is the most important thing in life which is eventually learned and adopted by their kids. This type of parenting is typical in our society.

But the passage that we read shows the opposite of it. This parent teaches his son that wisdom and understanding are two of the most important things that we can treasure in our life next to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

The son was told and taught to take the words of his father seriously. In other words, treat it as valuable as treasure in the context of divine revelation or the word of God. The words of our parents are indeed fallible and errant. But it does not mean they cannot speak the truth and share valuable lessons from the Lord and their rich experience in life. Therefore, how much more if it comes from the LORD through His clear and pure word?

The idea is we must acquire wisdom from God’s word, we must cling to it until we fully understand what it meant and what it means today in our life so that we can live better and more honorable in the sight of our holy God in Christ.

Is it not beautiful? This parental instruction reflects our duties to the scriptures and the words of our parents.

It means one thing, cling to and treasure God’s words as if it is our oxygen to live this life. It does not mean that we need to hide it, but it means we must know it, live it, and communicate it to others.

How about you? Do you hold fast to God’s word? Do we keep God’s commandments and treasure them?