“When I was a son with my father, tender and precious to my mother, he taught me and said, ‘Your heart must hold on to my words. Keep my commands and live.’” (vv. 3-4)

I’ll be honest:

I don’t remember much of what my Dad taught me.

I am confident that there were talks. I am confident that he made some deliberate investments in me. I am confident that he aimed to pass on some wisdom.

I just don’t remember much of it.

Maybe I was too distracted, or too entertained, or too—for want of better words—abandoned to my own devices. I might not have been a quality audience. But, thinking through the life I live now, I realize just how much more I wish I had been led.

Solomon, in the Proverbs, knows what’s at stake: The wisdom God gives is what keeps every willing hearer on the right path. But he also knows his most important audience: Solomon was led to preserve God’s wisdom for everyone ever, but he prayed that it would matter to his children.

Friends, you and I have a most-important audience for God’s wisdom, too. Our kids have to know right and wrong and good an evil and do and don’t—and they have to know it from God’s Word—and you are the one God has positioned to give it. They won’t remember everything, but the frequency and intention of your attempts will not go unnoticed, and God always works through His Word.

So prioritize the instruction of your kids, and give them God’s wisdom, for God’s glory…and their good.

— Tyler