The Wise Children

[Proverbs 3:11-26]

Yesterday, during the morning prayer meeting, I was deeply moved as I prayed to God for my three children. The reason for this was twofold: one was that I felt God's love for our children, Dylan, Yeri, and Yeun, as a gift He had given to my wife and me; the other reason was that, as an imperfect father, I also love these three children. Especially last Saturday, when I prayed for Yeri, who had devoted herself to God by wearing earrings, I offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God, dedicating my beloved daughter, Yeri, to Him. I could not help but be moved. As I prayed for God to make "the history of Ephraim" be fulfilled through Yeri, asking that she bear fruit abundantly, I acknowledged that it is only by God's grace. I also prayed for Yeun, asking God to help her realize His grace, so that she may work diligently and become someone who extends grace to others. And when I prayed for my beloved eldest son, Dylan, I cried out to God in my heart, “May you, Dylan, be true and faithful to God.” I believe you also have earnest prayer requests for your children or descendants. When you pray for the children or descendants you love, how does your heart feel?

As I meditated on today’s scripture, Proverbs 3:11-26, I noticed the repeated phrase "My son" in verses 11 and 21. This led me to reflect on the title "Wise Children" under the theme of "My son." The core of my reflection was to understand who a wise child is. Today, as I meditate on this passage, I want to consider three lessons regarding who, in God’s eyes, are wise children and apply these lessons in our prayers for our children (or descendants).

First, wise children experience the love of God the Father through His discipline.

Let us look at Proverbs 3:11-12:
"My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in."

Why do fathers discipline their children? Isn’t it because their children have disobeyed them? Recently, my two daughters had a small quarrel over something trivial, and I had to discipline them. Afterward, I told them to write down what they had done wrong. One of my daughters wrote a long letter with a drawing, explaining that she had learned not to fight over small things and didn’t know why she had acted that way. The letter also expressed her regret, and she mentioned that she had prayed to God for forgiveness. She also apologized to me, her father. So, what did I do? Did I forgive her or not? How could I not forgive my beloved daughter, especially since she had prayed for forgiveness to God? Our Heavenly Father disciplines us just as an earthly father disciplines his son (Deuteronomy 8:5). He disciplines us when we stray from His ways (Proverbs 15:10). Why does God discipline us when we depart from His ways? Because He loves us. God disciplines us when we live lives of disobedience, and it is an expression of His love (Proverbs 3:12). Furthermore, God sees us as His sons and daughters, which is why He disciplines us (Hebrews 12:6-8).

What then is the purpose of God’s discipline? I have summarized it in three points:

1. To drive away foolishness from our hearts (Proverbs 22:15).

2. To lead us to repentance (Revelation 3:19) so that we do not sin again (Job 34:31) and live in obedience to our Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:9).

3. To enable us to share in God’s holiness (Hebrews 12:10) and enjoy His peace (Isaiah 53:5).

In today's passage, Proverbs 3:11, King Solomon says, "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent His rebuke." I believe these words carry two meanings:

(1) In Proverbs 3:1, King Solomon says, "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart." Now, in the 11th verse of this same chapter, when he says, "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline," it implies that children may forget their father’s law and fail to keep their father’s commandments. In other words, it suggests that children may disobey their father.

Why does a father discipline his children? It's because the children disobey their father’s commands. However, an interesting point is that in Proverbs 3:11, Solomon does not refer to "the father's discipline" but speaks instead of "the Lord’s discipline." Reflecting on this, I think Solomon, as a father, was trying to teach his children the fear of God. In other words, when they fail to follow his laws and commands, God will discipline them. By doing so, Solomon was teaching them that his laws and commands were centered on God, and if they ignored or failed to follow them, God would discipline them.

(2) The reason Solomon says, "My son," and urges them not to despise the discipline of God or resent His rebuke is because, from a human perspective, God's discipline may seem unpleasant, but from God's perspective, it is beneficial for us (as Park Yunseon explains).

What is the benefit of God's discipline? As we have already reflected on the three purposes of discipline, the benefit of discipline is to drive away the foolishness that is tangled in our hearts, lead us to repentance so that we do not sin again, help us live in obedience to God the Father, and allow us to share in God's holiness and experience peace. However, I believe that King Solomon summarizes all of these benefits in one phrase in Proverbs 3:12. That one phrase is that the benefit of discipline is experiencing the love of God the Father.

To be more specific, the benefit of discipline is feeling the heart of God the Father (getting to know it). It is learning how much God loves us and how much He delights in us. Have we ever had the experience of receiving the benefit of God's discipline? Have we ever truly realized, in our hearts, how much God loves us and how much He delights in us through His discipline?

Wise children learn the heart of God the Father through His discipline. They come to understand how much God loves them and delights in them through God's rebuke. We should strive to become such wise children of God. When we forget God's commandments and sin against Him, we should consider receiving God's discipline as a blessing (Job 5:17). What is this blessing? It is a deeper understanding of God the Father’s love toward us. May we, through God’s discipline, learn more and more about His loving heart.

Secondly, wise children enjoy the blessings of wisdom.

Let’s look at Proverbs 3:13-15: “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gains understanding, for wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.” What is true blessing? Do the material things of the world, like silver and gold, give us true happiness? Last week, I read an article on a Christian website titled “The KCC Should Be Disbanded” (here, “KCC” stands for the “Korean Christian Council,” which represents Protestant Christianity in Korea) (internet). The reason I read this article was because it mentioned a few pastors affiliated with the KCC who had confessed to spending and receiving money during elections for the position of president of the KCC. The article also included an interview with Professor Bongho Son, a professor at Goshin University and an elder at Yeongdong Church. In the interview, the journalist asked the following question: “Is the excessive desire for fame revealed through money-driven elections a problem only for the KCC?” In response, Professor Son said: “The fundamental cause is the pursuit of self-interest and social advancement in our culture. In this culture, the faith of Korean Protestantism has been distorted into a faith based on material prosperity. The church teaches that being rich and famous is a blessing. Pastors cannot gain power through politics, nor can they make money through business. In the end, only honor remains, and people become obsessed with it” (Note: “Self-interest” refers to the attitude of only thinking about oneself; “Social advancement” refers to success and fame in society). What do you think about Professor Son’s words? Do you also think that the faith of Korean Protestantism has been distorted into a materialistic faith? Do you believe that “being rich and famous is a blessing”? Personally, I agree with Professor Son’s statement. The faith of Korean Protestantism has become materialistic. In this materialistic faith, where people believe that God exists for them and should always help them when needed, the reason for believing in God is simply to receive blessings. But is believing in God just to receive material blessings the kind of faith the Bible teaches?

In Proverbs 3:13-15, the writer, King Solomon, says that those who gain wisdom and understanding are blessed (verses 13, 18). He also explains how precious wisdom is, describing its value. In short, the value of wisdom cannot be compared to riches. Why is wisdom more valuable than silver and gold? In other words, what blessing does the one who gains wisdom receive that makes it incomparable to silver and gold? Let’s look at Proverbs 3:16-18: “Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.” The Bible says that the blessings of wisdom are not only long life, riches, joy, and peace, but also “the tree of life,” meaning eternal life. In other words, the blessing of wisdom guarantees the blessing of salvation in the life to come (Park Yunseon). We, who believe in Jesus Christ, the true wisdom, and have received eternal life, are already living with the joy and peace that God gives us. And we are living while accumulating the true meaning of the blessing of long life, which is eternal life, and the true riches, which are the treasures of heaven. However, those who do not believe in Jesus, the true wisdom, may live long and enjoy riches and honor in this world, but they cannot experience true joy and peace, nor will they have any blessings in the eternal life to come. Instead, for them, only eternal curses remain. Dr. Park Yunseon said that the most unfortunate thing is not believing in God because of gold and silver (Park Yunseon). I cannot disagree with this. Living without believing in God because of love for material things, and not living with God's supremacy, is truly a pitiable and unhappy life. How many people around us are living such pitiable and unhappy lives?

In Proverbs 3:19-20, the Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth with wisdom. It then speaks about the greatness of God’s wisdom (Park Yunseon). What can compare to this great wisdom of God? Can the gold and silver of this world be compared to it? King Solomon says that wise children are blessed by gaining this great wisdom of God. The Bible says they will enjoy blessings that the world cannot offer. We, who are enjoying this eternal blessing, how can we not give thanks to God in everything?

Third, wise children keep wisdom and moderation.

Let’s look at Proverbs 3:21: "My son, let them not depart from your eyes—keep sound wisdom and discretion." King Solomon commands his children to keep perfect wisdom and moderation. What does this mean? It means we should preserve sound judgment and discernment. In short, it means to fear God (Park Yunseon). To fear God and not let wisdom and moderation "depart from your eyes" means that we should keep God always before us and follow Him as though we can always see Him, without turning away from Him (Park Yunseon). When we do this, there are blessings that God gives to His wise children who fear Him sincerely. What are these blessings?

(1) The life of the soul.

Let’s look at Proverbs 3:22: "So they will be life to your soul..." We must value the life of the soul more than the life of the body (Park Yunseon). King Solomon says that if we keep wisdom and moderation, that is, if we live with fear of God and a sincere life, it will become the life of our soul.

(2) Safety.

Let’s look at Proverbs 3:23: "Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble." When we live with the fear of God and a sincere life, even though the devil may try to lead us away from the straight path and onto crooked and dark paths (Proverbs 2:15, 3:13), God will protect us and continue to lead us along the straight path, the path of the righteous (Proverbs 20:7).

(3) Sweet sleep.

Let’s look at Proverbs 3:24: "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet." When God protects and keeps us safe, we can sleep sweetly because He gives us peace. Just as Jesus slept in the boat during the storm, God gives sweet sleep to the righteous who fear Him, even in the midst of affliction.

(4) Confidence.

Let’s look at Proverbs 3:25: "Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes." Those who have obtained wisdom and live with fear of God do not fear even when they face afflictions sent by God to punish the wicked, but instead, they have confidence (Park Yunseon). The reason for this is that they trust in God (Proverbs 3:26).

I want to conclude this meditation. We must become wise children of God. Even through God's discipline, we should experience the love of our Heavenly Father. Also, we must recognize the value of the wisdom God gives us and, in seeking it, humbly receive and enjoy the blessings of wisdom. We must keep wisdom and moderation. In other words, as wise children of God, let us fear God and enjoy the blessings that He gives: the life of the soul, safety, sweet sleep, and confidence. May we all be such children.