Lastly - following up on yesterday so we can spend time really digging into these other few verse that jumped out at me, there are several comments in this Proverb about disciplining our children.  The one that stands out to me, largely because of its wording I suppose, is 24:

“Whoever spares the rod hates his son,

but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”

Here is the reality...life is hard, and life spares no one in discipline.  Life doesn’t care about hurting your feelings, wounding you, or killing you...it will run you over if let it.  Disciplining a child, or a young adult, or even an adult I suppose, is part of the parenting process.  It is part of the molding process.  Perhaps one of the greatest lessons we can impart on our kids is the ability to treat discipline not as an insult, but as a stepping stone.  If your kids can view discipline as a part of life, and as a sort of knife-sharpening exercise rather than being offended and insulted by it, they won’t internalize reproof, but they can use it to grow.  That’s the vision I think God give us for discipline.

And just to point out another verse that I think it important, that kind of piggy-backs on yesterday’s financially-focused discussion - this verse 22:

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,

but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.”

Now, obviously, if a person is good for leaving money to his children’s children, there are only two possibilities...he leaves nothing to his kids and leaves everything to his grandkids (which isn’t what I think the author is driving at here), or he leaves a lot behind (which seems a little more likely as to what he is suggesting).  I point this out to make sure we are comfortable with the fact that having money isn’t bad...making money isn’t bad, spending money isn’t bad...what’s bad is having the wrong relationship with money.  Money is a tool for living the life we are called to live, it just isn’t the goal in-and-of-itself.  And, if riches are your motivation, meaning material possessions are your thing, then you are chasing your tail and will never have enough.  As we discussed yesterday, ‘funded contentment’ is the goal...having enough money to live the life we are called to live.

An notice the language of the next verse...the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous...translation, if you can never have enough, you’ll never have enough, which is chasing riches and living in sin, and all you have will eventually land in the hands of the the person who CAN have enough, and those riches for the sinner will becomes wealth to the wise man.  That’s pretty powerful stuff right there!

Great words of wisdom this morning!