My dear readers,

Foolish or Wise?

Proverbs 15:5 “ A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.” (antithetical parallelism)

In every Christian home, the father is the head of the house. He is supposed to know the Word of God and provide biblical counsel and guidance in the home. His role is to provide a godly home for the children to grow up in. The children will be able to experience heaven on earth, i.e. a holy living environment before they become Christians. They will experience the goodness of a loving Saviour before they receive Him as their personal Lord and Saviour. This is the greatest blessing all Christian parents can give to their children and what a non-Christian home can never provide. The thrust of this verse assumes that the father is godly and holy and knows the Word of God well. It assumes that his instruction is from the Word of God.

The father is mentioned here because he is the head of the home. The mother will assist him and take spiritual direction from him. Both parents need to be spiritual in order for this Christian home to become a holy and godly environment for the children to experience and see. If the father is holy and godly but the mother is not, they will quarrel all the time because the former wants to obey the Bible but the latter does not as she is not spiritual. Even if she wants to obey she cannot do so as she is ignorant of God's Word. If the mother is spiritual and the father is not, then it’s another kind of frustration. The father would want the home to be carnal and to insist on a carnal emphasis which the godly mother would struggle to obey. She wants a godly home but cannot because the husband despises it or is indifferent to it. She is forced by her obedience to him to provide a carnal home against her heart’s spiritual desire. It is therefore important that both parents spend time in prayer and the study of God's Word to make this verse a reality.

– The fool continues to despise his father's instruction. This verse is not about infrequent times when the children disobey their father. Such sporadic disobedience is common. This verse is about a fool who continually disobeys his father and grows up to be an unbeliever and a scorner of Christ. The father would direct the child in the way he ought to grow up by his care and love but the child refuses to listen to what is right and wrong.

Children are too young to know the right way or the wrong way. Every child is born in sin and into total depravity where spiritual things are dead to him. He is born with the lusts of the flesh and eyes and the pride of life. He depends entirely on the parent’s guidance to live and behave. Therefore when the godly parent guides him according to holy Scriptures, the child must follow. If he continues to not want to follow, he is a fool in the eyes of the Lord. The way of life is before him and he turns his back on his loving parent’s guidance, which is the same as turning his back on God since the parent is teaching him how to live in light of the Word of God.

The word “instruction” means to chastise or discipline. The father’s instruction would include chastisement and using the rod of correction. The latter is what every child fears the most and tries to avoid. But the father’s responsibility is to decide for the child what is right and wrong since he knows the Word of God and the child does not and is not aware of what is right and wrong even as he exhibits the lusts of the flesh and the eyes and the pride of life in his behaviour. He depends on his godly father to show and guide him. He needs his parent to discipline him when he has done wrong so that he will stop doing wrong all the way until he is old enough to discern between right and wrong.

When the age of accountability arrives, then the parent will begin to teach and explain to him what is right and wrong so that when the chastisement comes he will understand the reason why. However, there are those who would not want to obey. They would despise their father’s loving chastisement. When that happens, these children will continue in sin. They will grow up not caring and loving God’s holy and godly ways. They will die in their sin and end up in hell. They were so close to heaven because through the loving chastisement of their parents they would be brought to the entrance of the kingdom of heaven. Tragically these will turn their back on Christ and God when they despise the godly chastisement of their parents.

Wise Regards – However, the wise are not so. They would regard their parent’s reproof. The word “regard” is often translated in the KJV as “keep.” It means to put a hedge around. The wise children would recognise the reproof of their godly parents as precious; otherwise they would not put a hedge around it to protect it from being stolen or lost! In other words they will not disregard their parent’s reproof. Their pride and self-will will not stand in the way of their parent’s reproof. They will take heed and change accordingly. Their “friends'” bad influence will also not be allowed to stand in the way of their parent’s reproof. They will not listen to bad advice that is of the world. Foolish and ungodly advice such as “the child did not choose to be born, therefore if the child misbehaves it is the parents’ fault!” Such godless talk sullies the minds of the wise and must be rejected at all costs. The wise child of God knows that he was brought into this world by God Himself and he has been placed in his parents’ home by God’s design to be given the gospel of Christ. These wise children learn to trust their parents not only to protect them physically but more so spiritually. Their parents will direct and guide them in the ways of God and these wise children will walk therein cheerfully.

The word “reproof” means chastisement where only words are used in contrast to the previous word “instruction” where the rod is also used. In other words the parent does not even have to resort to the use of the rod of correction because the wise children will listen! These children will obey at the slightest reproof from their parents because they know that these are directions in life from God Himself. Their parents are God’s representatives on earth to shape and mould them in the direction of Christ. They would not know this before salvation. But after salvation in Christ they will see clearly when they look back on how their godly parents have been guiding them through their loving Christ-centred reproofs. To be prudent means to think about the future and make wise decisions today in light of this future. Their future is God's prophecies. They know that their future is hell if they die in their sin. They know their godly parents love them and would want them to be in heaven with Christ. Therefore they know that their godly parents will provide them a godly environment so that they can see the wonderful Saviour Jesus Christ clearly at home. They will hold fast to their parents’ godly reproofs all their lives as children of God so that they might follow their parents’ godly example even as they follow Christ.

Conclusion – To be wise or foolish is a decision everyone must make very judiciously because of the grave eternal consequence. All of us are born foolish because of original sins and wilful sins. However, we do not need to remain in this condition of death and depravity. We can be wise in Christ. As Christian parents, we must be wise to bring our precious children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Children ought to be wise in Christ as the LORD has blessed them with godly parents to show them the way of eternal life in Christ before they receive Him as Lord and Saviour. Children, hold tightly to their reproofs as they guide you in the narrow way of righteousness, according to Scriptures. Do not despise their loving instructions. At the end of life, you will enter into life eternal because you have held on to your father’s reproofs. Amen.