Proverbs 1:9-19 reads,
8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching ; 9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause ; 12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit ; 13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil ; 14 Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse,” 15 My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, 16 For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood. 17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird * ; 18 But they lie in wait for their own blood ; They ambush their own lives. 19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence ; It takes away the life of its possessors.
When I read this I was reminded of how teenagers often abandon the advice of those who love them for those that are as unwise as themselves (I have to admit that was me just a decade ago). It is interesting that it is the abandonment of a father’s instruction and mother’s teaching that lead to falling into the enticement of sin.
I think we are living in the generation after this took place. Now we live in a day where father’s advice and mother’s teaching my resemble the latter part of this passage. We must cling to that which was passed to us and we know to be right and good (as defined by our Father).
If we do not then there might not be the graceful wreath of instruction and teaching for those who come after us. The trap will be much easier for them to fall into.
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