Thanks to my wife, we have been having family nights on Fridays. It’s one of the best things we do as a family. We have heard about other families who do this and love it, but for some reason we never did it. Probably because I was dragging my feet. I don’t really know why, but I just was. But, it is something that I think will be a part of our family for quite some time.
This last friday we watched “Home Alone” with our kids. We were going to watch it with them at Christmastime, but never got around to it. So, they got to experience the wonder of Kevin and his Micro Machines, paint cans and tarantellas. I remember when I first saw that movie and how fun I thought it would be to get left home alone like that.
There was this line that Kevin says that I remember being something that struck a chord within me as a youngster. “This is my house and I have to defend it!” I wasn’t very old, but I remember thinking to myself that if I was in the same situation, I too would need to defend my house.
I don’t know if that line struck the same chord in my son while he watched that movie. I think he was caught by surprise that Kevin was home alone. How could that happen? This didn’t really happen…But I do now know that as a husband and father, my feelings for protecting my house are still there and are much stronger.
This is what we are told to do with the wisdom we find in this book. We are to defend it. What does that even mean? Well, as we read on in the passage, we see that these commands are so precious that we should hold them in our hearts and wear them around our neck. They need to be in the most important parts of us and they need to be something we will guard as we would our house and family.
Proverbs 6:20-26
My child, guard the commands of your father
and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.
Bind them on your heart continually;
fasten them around your neck.
When you walk about, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.
For the commandments are like a lamp,
instruction is like a light,
and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life,
by keeping you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the loose woman.
Do not lust in your heart for her beauty,
and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes;
for on account of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,
but the wife of another man preys on your precious life.
As we read on through this passage we see why. These commands aren’t just suggestions that may or may not help us. They are not lackadaisical remarks that could be beneficial if we choose to abide by their terms. They are commands. They guide us, they watch over us, speak into our lives and light our path. They are the road that leads to life and keep us from making fatal decisions to follow the seductress.
So, the question is – not only will you try to live the provervious life, but will you defend it and stand up for it?
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