I am afraid when I think about my children.

“At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.  You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!  I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors.  I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” (Proverbs 5:11-14)

I am a father of three children and I have fear.  The fear is that when my three children whom God gave to my wife and I as the gifts grow up and become teenagers, they may go astray.  The reason I have this fear is probably because I went astray when I was a teenager.  But a greater fear that I have than this fear is that my three children betray Jesus, leave faith and the church.  Although I cannot imagine this fear being actualized, I only look at the Lord since I don’t know the future and only God knows.  

When we look at Proverbs 5:11-14, we see the author of the Proverbs had fear.  His fear was that when he died, his son (v. 1) aged and at the end of his life his flesh and boy are spent (v. 11), he might regret his life as he looks back at his life.  What was the image of the regretful life of the son that the author of the Provers feared?  I can summarize in two ways: (1) 'Why did I hate my parents' instruction and my heart spurn reproof?’ (v. 12) and (2) 'Why didn’t I listen to the voice of my teachers?’ (v. 13).  If we have really an important meeting in our life's journey, it is the meeting our parents and our teachers.  These two meetings are important because our parents and our teachers have the greatest impact on our lives.  Especially, the influence of our parents on us is bigger than the influence of our teachers.  Of course, our teacher's teaching affects us, but our parents' instruction and reproof has much bigger impact on us.  The problem, however, is that our children reject the influence of their parents and teachers.  They hate their parents' instruction and reproof at home, and they don’t listen to their teachers at school.  As a result, our children go astray and fall into evil unlike the wish of their parents who have raised them with instruction and reproof and the expectation of their teachers who have taught them.  Which parents and which teachers would like to see their children and their disciples walking in the way of sin?  The author of Proverbs was afraid of this.  After he died, when his son aged he might regret his life at the end of his life by the fact that he hated his parents’ instruction and reproof and that he didn’t listen to the voice of his teachers and was in utter ruin (vv. 12-14).  As a father, the author of Proverbs was afraid that his beloved son would come to an unwanted conclusion because he hated his parents’ instruction and his reproof and his teacher’s teaching.  Aren’t you afraid too?  Don’t you have fear like the author of Proverbs when you think of your beloved children?  Or are you already experiencing the reality that you were afraid of?

What must I do as a father of three children?  What I can do is to teach my three children "my wisdom" and "my understanding" (v. 1) like the author of Proverbs.  How should I impart my wisdom and understanding to my three children?  Of course I must teach the Word of God with my lips and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.  But before that, I myself must obey the Word of God and live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ in front of God and of three children.  My heart eagerly prays and hopes in God that my fear of the three children will not be actualized.