Dads and moms, you have the most important job in the world.

Steve Brown:
Dads and moms, you have the most important job in the world. Let’s talk, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
It’s for freedom that Christ set us free, and Key Life is here to bring you Biblical teaching that encourages you to never give in to slavery again. Our teacher on Key Life is Steve Brown. He’s an author, broadcaster, and seminary professor who’s sick of phony religion.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re looking at Proverbs, and like Fred Smith, I’m dropping some of these pearls. Well, the writer of Proverbs is dropping some of these pearls, and we’re trying to get through the Book of Proverbs by looking at the different subjects that are addressed by the writers of the Book of Proverbs. And we saw yesterday that wisdom is everywhere. There are Egyptian proverbs here, there are old proverbs, and we don’t even know where they come from. Some come from Solomon, who compiled a list of proverbs. Some of them from inspired writers, inspired by the Holy Spirit. It’s everywhere. And when you ask God to make you sensitive to wisdom, to hear the voice of God in the laughter of children, in the lecture by a professor, in a film, in a book you’ve read, in the Bible, in church, with your Christian friends, ask him to make you sensitive to wisdom. That’s knowledge in application and understanding. All right, let me show you something else. Fathers and mothers, you are the channels mostly through which wisdom comes. Listen to some of this. This is Proverbs 1:8 through 9.

My son, parenthetically, my daughter, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother, for they will be graceful ornaments on your head, and chains, golden chains about your neck.

And then in Proverbs 4:1 through 4.

Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to knowledge and understanding, for I give you good doctrine; do not forsake my law. When I was my father’s son, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, he also taught me and said to me, “Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands, and live.

And I could give you a bunch, let me give you one more. Proverbs 6:20 through 23.

My son, keep your father’s command, and do not forsake the law of your mother. Bind them continually upon your heart; tie them around your neck. When you roam, they will lead you; when you sleep, they will keep you; when you are awake, they will speak with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the law a light, reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

Oh man, one of the most dangerous things going on in our culture is the separation of children from parents. And the educational establishment saying to parents they’re not yours, they’re mine. Now, they don’t say it that bluntly, they don’t say it so harshly, but that’s what they’re insinuating. You give your children to us and we’ll teach them what they need to be taught. And you don’t know what they need to be taught. You know, we sometimes wonder what God’s purpose was in the pandemic. I, a couple of things I have discerned about the pandemic. First, God killed all those people because he likes me so much. You say what? Well, we left the church, we’ve been a part of for a very long time and love very much. And I’m not going to go into it, but it was important and clearly led that we were to leave. And I didn’t know how I was going to do it, without hurting some people significantly. And then we had the pandemic and we couldn’t go to church. And for over year and a half, they didn’t know I was gone. And by the time the year and a half passed, nobody cared. But another thing that happened is that parents may be for the first time because they were watching what their kids were being taught on a computer screen in order to keep up their kids at an education. And the parents were absolutely shocked. And then, the mother, don’t make mothers angry. That’s going to change our entire culture. Mothers started going to school board meetings. And then the government attacked the mothers and the fathers because they knew what was good for the children and you don’t know. Well, the Bible teaches quite differently. It teaches the importance of transferring wisdom from your lips to the ears of your children. The Bible clearly teaches that you have a responsibility to your children. Even when it runs counter to the narrative that the turkeys are trying to give us. You remember, the song by the Judds? It was written by Jamie O’Hara. And it’s kind of corny, but it is profound in a certain way.

Grandpa, tell me about the good old days. Sometimes it feels like this world has gone crazy. Grandpa, take me back to yesterday, when the line between right and wrong didn’t seem so hazy. Did lovers really fall in love to stay? Stand beside each other, come what may. Promises really, something people kept. Not just something they would say and then forget. Families really bow their heads to pray? Daddies really never go away? Grandpa, tell me about the good old days. Grandpa, everything is changing fast. We call it progress, I just don’t know. And Grandpa, let’s wander back to the past and paint me the picture of long ago. Did lovers really fall in love to stay, stand before each other come what may? Promises really, something people kept. Not just something they would say and forget? Families really bow their heads to pray? Daddies really never go away? Grandpa, tell me about the good old days. Grandpa, tell me about the good old days.

I know, I know. There were never really good old days, but there was good. When parents taught their children, and values were important, and God was worshipped, and promises were kept. And that can be the good old days right now. If you’re a mom or a dad or granddad or grandmother, remember you have a responsibility. And the Book of Proverbs is so clear about that, you don’t have any wiggle room. Yeah, good old days you’ve got to be careful about because you have a tendency to remember the good and forget the bad. Selective remembering is something we always deal with. When I was a pastor on Cape Cod, people would say, I wish we could go back to the good old days on Cape Cod. And I had an old man in the church who laughed when somebody said that, and he said, they’re crazy. We had roads that weren’t paved, and cows that weren’t clean, and people who were mean. The good old days were not the good old days. Now are the good old days. We have paved streets, we have mail, and we have telephones, and we have livestock that are well kept. Then he would say, you don’t want to go back to the good old days. Well, I get that. But there was something better, wasn’t there? There was something, with all of the bad things, the racism, the division, the bad stuff. At the heart of it, there was an anchor, an anchor where lovers really did fall in love to stay, where they stood by each other no matter what happened, where promises were kept not just something people forget. Family really bowed their heads to pray. So, Steve, or Grandpa, or whoever’s there, tell me about the good old days. You know, if I were going to destroy society, you know where I’d start. I would start with the family. I would make fun of mothers and fathers. I would stop having Mother’s Day. And I would affirm marriage outside of the clear standards of Scripture. People are upset about public schools, about the bad influence of the media, about the bad companions, but frankly, if parents communicate the values of their faith to their children, you give them a compass and they’ll never get rid of it. Sometimes they’ll want to, sometimes they’ll want to shake it, sometimes they’ll be angry at you for giving them that compass, but the compass will always point to the truth. The compass will always point to God. The compass will always point to home. And they’ll never be able to shake it. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve. And with that, we wrap up another great week of exploring the Book of Proverbs. Remember that you can re-listen and share any of our episodes for free at KeyLife.org and hope you will join us again tomorrow for Friday Q&A. Of course, that’s the time when Steve and our friend Pete Alwinson sit down to answer the questions you’ve sent in. And here’s one they’ll tackle tomorrow. My prayer life stinks, what can I do about it? Be sure to tune in for their answer. So, here’s the bad news, 40 million people are now dechurched. And the good news, well, the good news is what we discussed with authors, Jim Davis and Michael Graham on Steve Brown Etc. And there’s much more good news than you might think. It was an eye-opening yet hopeful conversation with Jim and Michael. And I think you’re going to really enjoy hearing it. So, let us send it to you for free. Call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. If you’d like to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for your copy of the CD about dechurching. And finally, if you value the work of Key Life, would you support that work through your giving? You can charge a gift on your credit card, or include a gift in your envelope. Or simply pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word, two words. It doesn’t matter, text that to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.