Proverbs 1:8 (ESV)
Hear, my son, your father's instruction,
and forsake not your mother's teaching,
Parents don't always have good teaching. This proverb is not telling us that if we listen to our parents teaching we will have safety and blessings. However, some parents are not wise. Some are not believers and have, in fact, false teaching. What Solomon is teaching us is that authority, who believe in God and fear God, should be listened to. We are to "hear" Godly teaching and we are to not "forsake" Godly teaching. We are often caught listening to others. We are often listening to the world through music, entertainment or reading foolish magazines. Solomon tells us we need to be careful "who" we listen to as much as "what" we listen to. A Godly father and mother should be heeded. We have to be careful who we trust when it comes to instruction. Parents should be able to be trusted. Godly parents, with, with Godly wisdom, should be trusted in what they say. If we hear Godly instruction, no matter who we hear it from, we should trust it and obey it.
This does not imply were are not to listen to parents when we think they are ungodly. Solomon is telling us that authority in our lives matter. However, we can’t follow ungodly wisdom and still please God. This might be one of the most difficult areas to navigate for young believers living in non-believing homes. As we read the rest of Solomon’s words in this chapter (and others) he makes it plan that as we follow God’s wisdom, He can make keep us from false wisdom. He can keep us from false wisdom that might even come from non-believing parents. Later in this chapter he is describing how fools want to lead us astray. But note what he writes in the middle of those warnings:
Proverbs 1:23 (ESV)
If you turn at my reproof,
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
As we turn to God’s wisdom, He keeps us from false teaching.
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