Want a long life? Talk to dad about it.

“Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.”
-Proverbs 4:10

Do you remember the time when kids used to willingly accept the counsel of their elders? Me neither. I keep hearing about such a time in the past, but I’m not really sure it ever existed.

I’ve read some history and some literature, and it seems to me that people have always been a stubborn bunch. You tell people, “Don’t go over there!” and they’ll start packing for the trip. There is a spirit of rebellion in most people I’ve met that cannot be explained except to say that it is pride. It is pride that tells someone that he should walk where angels fear to tread, that he should use business practices that the world would condemn, that he should drink excessively the night before the midterm, that he should sleep around when such activity has harmed so many before him. It is pride that tells you to seek after your own pleasures and that you can control the consequences.

Over and over again in the Bible, from the Ten Commandments all the way through the New Testament, it is said that we should obey our parents and, in so doing, gain long life. Solomon repeats that same promise here with his son.

Why would this be? Well, let’s take this instance in context. Solomon has just been telling his son to seek wisdom, and if you seek wisdom, wisdom will bring you honor, protection, and life.

Now he is reiterating, saying, basically, “And you can start gaining wisdom here by listening to me tell you to seek wisdom,” which is exactly what Solomon’s father David said too.

The truth is this – if I want to do well at work, I’ll get advice from the people at work who have succeeded. If I want to succeed in marriage, I’m going to get advice from people who have had successful marriages. If I want to succeed in have a long, fruitful life that is focused on God, I’m going to talk to God-focused people who have had fruitful lives. These people probably will have failed a hundred times in a hundred ways, but I’ll be able to use those stories too.

If you don’t want to make the same mistakes your parents made, you probably should find out what mistakes they made.

You need to listen to those people who can say, “I’ve been there, and it’s not worth it.” In our rebellious natures, we don’t want to listen to that, because the activity in question looks fun and adventurous. But if you listen to those who went before, maybe that can teach you something.

The Bible is like that. Just like sound advice from an earthly father, our Heavenly Father has given us the Bible and the Holy Spirit for guidance. He wants us to walk righteously, because He knows that is the way to life. His Commands are made out of love, because they direct us to the Source of life, which is God Himself.

Unfortunately, we haven’t been all that righteous. In our rebellious natures, we have scorned His commands just like we have scorned the commands of our parents. We have rejected God to go our own way. We have disobeyed, and that is called sin.

We can continue in disobedience, but it does not lead to life. That way will end in spiritual death, just like wild living will lead to physical death. But God came to earth as the man Jesus to pay for that death we have already earned. By His Blood we can be saved by repentance and belief.

If I ignore my dad’s advice, but I come home, repentant for my mistake, will he shut me out? No. If I do it again, will he shut me out then? No. If we confess our sins to God, He is faithful to forgive in the very same way. We cannot prove ourselves worthy of that sort of love. We just accept is as the love between a father and His children.