What it Takes to be a Wise Father

In May, I honored women and mothers with a series of blog posts, and I have no intention of leaving fathers and men out during June. What’s even more interesting to me? I found the wisdom for fathers in Proverbs, too.

In fact, the bulk of my scriptures come from Proverbs chapter one. The women essays were from Proverbs 31. It’s like the Lord bookended the book of wisdom with truths for men in the first chapter and truths aimed at a woman’s heart in the last chapter.

Solomon writes this book to his sons. In fact, many verses begin with “my son.” The first verse gives context to this when Solomon names himself the son of David.

I hope you’ll take a few moments to read the first chapter of Proverbs. Or at least the first nineteen verses. They’ll paint a clear picture of what it takes to be a wise person, and more specifically for this post, a wise father.

My son, hear the instruction of your father; reject not nor forsake the teaching of your mother.

Proverbs 1:8 AMP

What He Knows

Wisdom starts with knowing something. More specifically, it begins with knowing someone: the Lord Jesus Christ.

It doesn’t end with that though. Being a person who exemplifies godly wisdom is a process, a lifelong process that begins with salvation, grows through study of God’s Word and interacting with God’s people and ends with eternity in Heaven.

Because he’s purposeful in becoming more like his Lord, a wise father understands:

• Godly instruction. Not the wisdom of the world but the wisdom that comes from reading God’s Word and allowing it to change his heart and mind.
• How to discern good and evil. This isn’t just head knowledge, but applied knowledge and next week’s post will delve more deeply into what that looks like.

Because this wise man knows God’s Word and has learned how to tell the difference between good and evil, his life goals and priorities look different from the average man.

What He Does

He:

• Seeks wise counselors
• Listens to scripture
• Understands its surface and depths
• Lives differently based on what he’s learned from the Lord

That’s right. The wise man spends time in God’s Word and listening to the Spirit. He realizes that making good decisions is a process that starts and ends with scripture.

The wise also will hear and increase in learning

Proverbs 1:5a AMP

Thankfully, we live in a country where every man has access to what it takes to be a wise father: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and access to God’s Holy Word.

Are you striving to be a wise father to your children?