Tiny Devotional for Monday, 11/02/2020

 A great good morning to all my Friends and Neighbors out there in Internet Land! And, to any family members who dropped by: aren’t midnight left-overs wonderful?

Today, approaching a semi-difficult concept: understanding the fear of the Lord. And whereas this specific case involved a father and his sons, it applies to everybody.

If you seek her (Wisdom) as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And discover the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2: 4-5, NASB

Gerald’s father Rupert was harsh, argumentative, and hostile to Gerald and his older brothers. 


That didn’t teach them how to be successful as adults; that taught them how to be harsh, argumentative, and hostile. It also taught them to avoid and resist RUPERT (and by extension, all authority).

He justified his treatment of them by saying “It’s a tough world out there, so I had to ride them hard to toughen them up. “

MALARKEY! 
He rode them hard because he was mean!

At age 18, HIGHLY intelligent Gerald was enrolled in a church-run residential program, as an alternative to jail time. And he resisted that, as well: 

Gerald argued,  “See? The Bible says I should be afraid of God. So I am. How can I love Him if I am afraid of Him?”

Rupert was right about this: it IS a hard world out there! 

Therefore, fathers: we must teach our sons to turn to us for guidance, when they run into something they can’t handle. And that will make it easier for them to turn to OTHER authorities for help; authorities like Wisdom.

Gerald could have been taught to SEEK authority for help; fathers, that’s our real job.

I wonder what happened to Gerald?

Peace be on your household.

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