We've noted that wisdom is a skill. It's something that is developed over a period of time as one learns how to take these steps. One step at a time in the right direction on the right path. Life is very complex and so are the decisions that we make. We should understand that this training in life, being skillful at life, is going to take some time. 

Let me give you an example. In Proverbs 22:6 we read:
"Start children off on the way they should go, 
and even when they are old, they will not turn from it."

There are a few interpretations from some scholars of what it means when it says; “on the way that they should go.” What gets communicated often to parents is this: If I raise my kids in the right way, then they will never lose their faith. They treat this Proverb like a promise. If I do this, then that will happen. However, the Proverbs are more complex than that. It's not just a matter of picking one out and claiming that as some sort of promise for my life.

As we read the Proverbs, we want to read it in larger chunks. The Jews read the book of Proverbs as a guide for how to live life. It's God's best practices on how to live. But if parents look at Proverbs 22:6 as a promise, they're going to take it into their heart that if I take my kids to church, if I take them to Sunday School, if I take them to youth group, then they won't turn away from their faith. The problem is that we know many parents who've done everything that they can, and yet their children still lose their faith. 

What we want to do is look at Proverbs as a whole. Proverbs 15:5 tells us that sometimes parents can do everything right, but there's foolishness that's bound up in the heart of a child. Or how about in Proverbs 28:7 where we’re told that sometimes the young fall in with the wrong crowd. What an incredible weight there is on a parent’s shoulders to do everything perfectly when Proverbs 22:6 is the only proverb they are paying attention to. But take a step back, take in Proverbs as whole, and remember, these are best practices. 

We could build the same case for subject matters like hard work and wealth. If you look at it, there's no clear correlation between how hard a person works and how much money that they make. Generally, you should work hard, and when you do wealth will come in. When you raise your kids like this, it will go well for you. But there are instances when it just doesn't. God’s providence is still at work. It's like his trump card. He is a wise and loving and purposeful God, and exerts control and sovereignty over our lives. 

Here's my question for you in closing, is there anything in the Bible that you've made into a promise for your life that in actuality is not a promise from God to you? Do you have hidden expectations in your heart about how God should act in response  to you? Begin to explore that today. Open your heart up to God in prayer to say, “Lord, are there any promises that I'm taking in the wrong way? Please would you show me so that I don't have that expectation.”

Prayer for Today
Father in heaven, you are good. We pray that in your wisdom and goodness, you would show us those places where we are expecting something from you, and we're treating it as a promise when in fact, it's not. That's foolishness. Make us wise Lord to believe only those things that you have actually promised to us. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.