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What about sinful parents? (Prov 1:8-9).
Prayer
I praise you, Lord, righteous and holy is your name. Your word is faithful, and you are altogether trustworthy. As I open and read your word this morning, please fill my heart with zeal and love for you. Let me not forget your word, and may I delight in the way of your law. Please give me understanding that I may live. With my whole heart I cry, O Lord, cause me to keep your word. I call to you, please save me, that I may observe your testimonies. I rise before the dawn and cry for your help, and I hope in your word and promises. Hear my voice, O Lord, according to your steadfast love. Protect me, God, I trust in you. Have mercy upon me for my sin, according to the greatness of your compassion, and lead me in the way everlasting. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Reading
Proverbs 1:7-9.
“Hear, my son, your father's instruction,and forsake not your mother's teaching,for they are a graceful garland for your headand pendants for your neck.”
Meditation
Verse eight seems to be making another assumption: that one has godly parents. “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.” This can’t mean that if our fathers instruct us in sin, that we are called to follow such teaching, can it? It certainly raises the question. What do if those in authority over us are unbelievers or sinful? What if you’ve got ungodly or foolish elders in the church? What if you’ve got an ungodly or foolish husband or wife? What if you’ve got a godless, foolish government in power in your country? What do we do with that?
Well let me say first off that the fact that your parents and those over you are sinful does not mean that you shouldn’t be teachable under them. Look at the man God used to write these very words – King Solomon. Imagine if your dad was Solomon… “Well dad, you married hundreds of women and become an idol worshipper – why should I listen to what you’ve got to say?” And yet there it is – God used Solomon to write the Book of Proverbs! And Solomon didn’t have a flawless dad either. His mother was an adulteress and his father was both a murderer and an adulterer. He seemingly had every good reason not to listen to his parents either! The fact is, if you were going to refuse to be teachable because those over you are sinful, you just wouldn’t be teachable at all, because everyone is sinful, and everyone has significant glaring sinful weaknesses. So those in authority over you will be sinful, flawed, weak people – there’s no question about that. How then do you be teachable under sinful overseers? Well let me lay out a series of guidelines for how to do that – whether they be parents, elders, or someone else.
Be ye doers of the word…
The first guidelines is to begin with the foundational truth that God appointed your overseers. Whoever it is that is over you in your life, God providentially gave them to you for a specific reason. Be it your parents, your spouse, your elders, or your government, God is working in and through these sinful people for the advancement and good of your soul, and for his own glory. There is a time for conscientiously going against those in authority over you, and we’ll get to that, but you should start with the acknowledgement that God has placed you under specific people in your life for his specific purposes. In the words of one pastor – even the sin of others have been ordained to have a sanctifying influence on you. God works through means, and his means are sinful, fallen people. So then, do not rebel against them thoughtlessly, or out of anger or bitterness, it’s never the right approach.
Here is a second guideline for how to be teachable under your overseers: listen to them! If nothing else, you can’t reject the oversight of others unless you have devoted yourself to giving them a fair hearing. That requires patience, an open heart and mind, and a willingness to truly consider things from their perspective. We must set ourselves to truly listen to those over us. If you don’t listen, you can’t possibly be teachable. “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction.” We must use our ears and we must have open hearts to at least listen if we would be teachable.
And so ask yourself: Am I a good listener? Do I generally listen more than I speak? Ecclesiastes 5:2 captures the essence here: “Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.” God has placed people in authority over us, let us not be rash with our mouths. James 1:19 says: “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”
As well as listening to those over us, we must also be open to correction. We all need correction – that’s a fact. Do you sense that in your life? Do you sense that you desperately need correction? We do, of course, and because of this we must be open to correction. We should never be so proud as to presume that we have nothing to learn from others even if we see that they have glaring weaknesses in their lives. Again – Solomon is the prototype example. We should always listen to the people in our lives and consider carefully what they’re saying. In addition, we should also humbly ask ourselves: Is there any truth in what this person is saying?
Now don’t get me wrong, these things are by no means easy. We are prideful, we don’t like being corrected, but we must humble ourselves and listen. In Philippians 2 the Apostle Paul instructs us to consider others as more significant than ourselves. Part of what that means is that we listen to them, and we remain open to hear what they are saying and be corrected if necessary.
There is a fourth step needed if we are to heed instruction well, and that is that we must know God’s word. As we receive instruction from others, a knowledge of God’s word will be crucial for helping us to receive that instruction rightly. There will be times when we need discernment to see the errors in the advice we are given, and our discernment will never rise above the level of our familiarity with the word of God. To be properly submissive, and to know when is the right time to conscientiously object, we will need to be mature in our understanding of the word of God. All people are called to submit to the word of God, for it is the standard or rule for life to which all authorities must submit. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Lord my God, I confess that the humility required to listen to, consider, wisely reflect upon, and submit to those in authority over me, has been vastly absent in my life. Instead I have had a tower of pride in my heart in which I have constantly sealed myself. I have unthinkingly trusted my own judgment, and responded in pride to the advice of the people in my life that you have given me. O Lord, please forgive me for the magnitude of my pride. Please help me to have a growing distrust in my own heart, which frequently deceives me. Help me Lord, that I may not lean on my own understanding. Please put a guard upon my mouth, that I may not sin in speech against you. Teach me this wisdom, O Lord, I desire to be humbly prostrate before you, and humbly open to the people you have placed in my life for your glory and for the good of my soul. All glory be to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I praise you, and I thank you for your patient grace toward me. I thank you for the grace upon grace which you have poured out upon me. Glory be to you, O God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
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By Reformed devotions from all of scripture.Prayer
I praise you, Lord, righteous and holy is your name. Your word is faithful, and you are altogether trustworthy. As I open and read your word this morning, please fill my heart with zeal and love for you. Let me not forget your word, and may I delight in the way of your law. Please give me understanding that I may live. With my whole heart I cry, O Lord, cause me to keep your word. I call to you, please save me, that I may observe your testimonies. I rise before the dawn and cry for your help, and I hope in your word and promises. Hear my voice, O Lord, according to your steadfast love. Protect me, God, I trust in you. Have mercy upon me for my sin, according to the greatness of your compassion, and lead me in the way everlasting. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Reading
Proverbs 1:7-9.
“Hear, my son, your father's instruction,and forsake not your mother's teaching,for they are a graceful garland for your headand pendants for your neck.”
Meditation
Verse eight seems to be making another assumption: that one has godly parents. “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.” This can’t mean that if our fathers instruct us in sin, that we are called to follow such teaching, can it? It certainly raises the question. What do if those in authority over us are unbelievers or sinful? What if you’ve got ungodly or foolish elders in the church? What if you’ve got an ungodly or foolish husband or wife? What if you’ve got a godless, foolish government in power in your country? What do we do with that?
Well let me say first off that the fact that your parents and those over you are sinful does not mean that you shouldn’t be teachable under them. Look at the man God used to write these very words – King Solomon. Imagine if your dad was Solomon… “Well dad, you married hundreds of women and become an idol worshipper – why should I listen to what you’ve got to say?” And yet there it is – God used Solomon to write the Book of Proverbs! And Solomon didn’t have a flawless dad either. His mother was an adulteress and his father was both a murderer and an adulterer. He seemingly had every good reason not to listen to his parents either! The fact is, if you were going to refuse to be teachable because those over you are sinful, you just wouldn’t be teachable at all, because everyone is sinful, and everyone has significant glaring sinful weaknesses. So those in authority over you will be sinful, flawed, weak people – there’s no question about that. How then do you be teachable under sinful overseers? Well let me lay out a series of guidelines for how to do that – whether they be parents, elders, or someone else.
Be ye doers of the word…
The first guidelines is to begin with the foundational truth that God appointed your overseers. Whoever it is that is over you in your life, God providentially gave them to you for a specific reason. Be it your parents, your spouse, your elders, or your government, God is working in and through these sinful people for the advancement and good of your soul, and for his own glory. There is a time for conscientiously going against those in authority over you, and we’ll get to that, but you should start with the acknowledgement that God has placed you under specific people in your life for his specific purposes. In the words of one pastor – even the sin of others have been ordained to have a sanctifying influence on you. God works through means, and his means are sinful, fallen people. So then, do not rebel against them thoughtlessly, or out of anger or bitterness, it’s never the right approach.
Here is a second guideline for how to be teachable under your overseers: listen to them! If nothing else, you can’t reject the oversight of others unless you have devoted yourself to giving them a fair hearing. That requires patience, an open heart and mind, and a willingness to truly consider things from their perspective. We must set ourselves to truly listen to those over us. If you don’t listen, you can’t possibly be teachable. “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction.” We must use our ears and we must have open hearts to at least listen if we would be teachable.
And so ask yourself: Am I a good listener? Do I generally listen more than I speak? Ecclesiastes 5:2 captures the essence here: “Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.” God has placed people in authority over us, let us not be rash with our mouths. James 1:19 says: “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”
As well as listening to those over us, we must also be open to correction. We all need correction – that’s a fact. Do you sense that in your life? Do you sense that you desperately need correction? We do, of course, and because of this we must be open to correction. We should never be so proud as to presume that we have nothing to learn from others even if we see that they have glaring weaknesses in their lives. Again – Solomon is the prototype example. We should always listen to the people in our lives and consider carefully what they’re saying. In addition, we should also humbly ask ourselves: Is there any truth in what this person is saying?
Now don’t get me wrong, these things are by no means easy. We are prideful, we don’t like being corrected, but we must humble ourselves and listen. In Philippians 2 the Apostle Paul instructs us to consider others as more significant than ourselves. Part of what that means is that we listen to them, and we remain open to hear what they are saying and be corrected if necessary.
There is a fourth step needed if we are to heed instruction well, and that is that we must know God’s word. As we receive instruction from others, a knowledge of God’s word will be crucial for helping us to receive that instruction rightly. There will be times when we need discernment to see the errors in the advice we are given, and our discernment will never rise above the level of our familiarity with the word of God. To be properly submissive, and to know when is the right time to conscientiously object, we will need to be mature in our understanding of the word of God. All people are called to submit to the word of God, for it is the standard or rule for life to which all authorities must submit. SDG.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Lord my God, I confess that the humility required to listen to, consider, wisely reflect upon, and submit to those in authority over me, has been vastly absent in my life. Instead I have had a tower of pride in my heart in which I have constantly sealed myself. I have unthinkingly trusted my own judgment, and responded in pride to the advice of the people in my life that you have given me. O Lord, please forgive me for the magnitude of my pride. Please help me to have a growing distrust in my own heart, which frequently deceives me. Help me Lord, that I may not lean on my own understanding. Please put a guard upon my mouth, that I may not sin in speech against you. Teach me this wisdom, O Lord, I desire to be humbly prostrate before you, and humbly open to the people you have placed in my life for your glory and for the good of my soul. All glory be to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I praise you, and I thank you for your patient grace toward me. I thank you for the grace upon grace which you have poured out upon me. Glory be to you, O God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe