A MILLION DOLLAR’S WORTH OF ADVICE

Here’s a million dollars worth of advice for parents—especially for fathers where there is both a father and a mother in the home.  

Give your child 2 to 5 dollars, or some other real incentive every time he or she reads the Book of Proverbs through. Why? Because gradually, in the process of repeated readings, divine, supernatural force will come into play that will sharpen and strengthen your children’s minds and build a moral compass within them that will serve them well throughout their entire lives. Immersion in this book will slowly and steadily produce in them a wholesome, reverential fear of God which is indispensable to their getting wisdom which is the product of consecrated understanding, which is the product of consecrated knowledge. Fear of God = consecrated knowledge = consecrated understanding = wisdom (Prov. 9:10; Ecc. 12:13; Prov. 1:7; 18:15;3:5; 4:1, 5-9).

The Book of Proverbs can be read in less than two hours. Let your child know that each full reading has to be done with no TV on or ear buds in, etc., and must be done in less than a week in order to qualify for a reward (God endorses such rewards (1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 John 1:8). Have a sit-down with them and instruct them to do all they can to keep their minds undistracted and focused on what they are reading. Let them know that a spiritually mysterious operation will come to bear on what they may think is merely a mechanical reading.

As you get involved with your children in this process, the benefits will become more and more obvious in more and more ways. At some point you could ask them to list the references in proverbs where words such as “speech,” “words,” “talk,” “mouth,” and “lips,” etc. occur. References to “father,” mother,” “children” and “child” can be assigned. So can occurrences of words such as “fool,” “fools,” and “foolish” and “work,” labour,” “labouers” and “toil,” "sloth" and "slothful." Words such as “lazy, “laziness,” “sloth "slothful” and “slumber” are other examples of how focus can be brought to bear on character-relevant topics. Initiate and ease into some patient, meaningful discussion however brief it may be. In connection with these projects,

Give this direction and time to your children and get what is promised to the giver: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over … “ (Luke 6:38). You’ll become more reverential, knowledgeable, understanding and wise yourself. You’ll set an example, and create memories for your children that are beyond precious, and help them to become what children can rarely become without this kind of attention. You’ll increasingly become glad fathers and mothers (Prov. 23:24, 25).