Thirty Sterling Principles, Part 8

“Listen with respect to the father who raised you,

            and when your mother grows old, don’t neglect her.

Buy truth – don’t sell it for love or money;

            buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight.

Parents rejoice when their children turn out well;

            Wise children become proud parents.

So make your father happy!

            Make your mother proud!” Proverbs 23:22-25, Principle #16

This principle has several parts to it. The overall theme has to do with children listening to their parents and as a result, making the parents proud and happy. There is some instruction hidden in the middle of the passage: Buy truth . . . by wisdom, buy education, buy insight. These are instructions to children but I think they apply to all of us.

As I look back on my life, I wonder if I made my parents proud and happy. I can’t ask them any more since they are passed away, so it leaves me wondering. I think that in general they were proud of the choices I’ve made and proud of how I live my life. I remember a few things my parents said to me that lead me to believe they were proud of me. I think they were proud of my desires to live a truthful life. I’m pretty sure they were proud of my educational accomplishments. After all they did come to my graduation ceremonies: high school, undergraduate, and graduate school. I think they saw me using my resources to buy wisdom, education and insight.

I know that I am proud of my older two children for they continue to choose truth, wisdom, education, and insight as they go about their adult lives. I’m proud of my youngest daughter as she struggles to figure out what is truth in her life and tries to apply herself to her studies. In many ways my children make me a happy mother.

This passage, because of its focus on what children should do, caused me to pray for my children. I prayed they would seek truth, wisdom, education, and insight in their lives and desire to become proud parents themselves when the time comes. I prayed they would eventually have kids of their own that turn out well. I prayed they would be wise children who become proud parents. I am trusting God to work in my children making them into the kind of wise adults that will produce wise grandchildren for me. I am praying this on a daily basis this week.