Letter writing is a lost art. Who writes letters anymore? I can’t remember the last time I wrote an email longer than a paragraph.
As I read these introductory poems that begin Proverbs, I can’t help but think about letters. Every time I read, “My son…” I imagine a caring dad sharing his life experience, things to be on the look out for, ways to squeeze everything out of living life, maximizing every opportunity.
It’s just a few short months now until my first son is born. I can’t help but think about all of the good things about life I hope to share with him and all the bad things I hope to help him avoid. As a parent-to-be I’m loaded with expectations for the little guy, that he’s happy and healthy, and yet, he’ll have a will of his own and eventually have to make his own choices and live with the consequences of those choices.
It’s a part of the human nature to want to share our experiences. Maybe you’re parents sat you down before college and dumped a ton of advice on you—go to class, don’t eat pizza after midnight, choose your friends wisely, whatever. Maybe as a graduating senior you spotted an impressionable, wide-eyed freshmen and shared all the things you experienced or all the things you wish you had.
And so here in the midst of this letter, we see these words:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Trust. That’s the foundational ingredient between children and parents, right? Really, every relationship? Without trust, what have you got?
And so, at the start, the art of living skillfully is about trusting in the LORD.
Now, what if we read these Proverbs as a letter for us from our Heavenly Father?
Fiftyeight 