“Life’s Little Instruction Book” – Proverbs 3:1 12
Aim: to salute our graduating seniors.
Thesis: the book of Proverbs is the best preparation for life for a young person.
Intro:
1. Here in my home state of Tennessee a man named Jackson Brown found himself in a situation that will be familiar to many fathers: his son Adam had graduated from high school, and was leaving home for college. Brown wanted to give his son some parting words of wisdom, so he bought a notebook and began jotting down a list of suggestions for a good life. He eventually came up with 32 typed pages of reflections, which he gave to his son. Adam liked the list so well that Brown decided to put them in book form, and it eventually became a little paperback book entitled “Life’s Little Instruction Book”. Once it was published it became a phenomenal success- in fact, he has since published “Life’s Little Instruction Book”, Volume Two, which has also become a bestseller!
a. Brown was not the first person to do that many centuries ago another father faced the same situation, and responded in the same way: by jotting down a list of observations on what it takes to live a good life.
b. This father was uniquely qualified to provide such instruction: by virtue of receiving a special gift of God this father happened to be the wisest man who ever lived! Solomon wanted to provide guidance to his own son, so he wrote the original “Life’s Little Instruction Book” (we know it today as the book of Proverbs)!
2. TURN TO CHAPTER 3 as we consider some of his advice for young people. In keeping with the original format, this morning we won’t have one long sermon, but rather a series of one sentence sermons.
Body:
I. v. 1 2 REALIZE WHO REALLY CARES, HAS YOUR BEST INTERESTS AT HEART
“My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.”
1. Remember the Disney movie Pinocchio, about the puppet who became a real boy? He is the pride and joy of Gepetto, his father, who sends him off to school to learn. But on the way to school he makes friends with “Honest John”, an unscrupulous character who tells him that school is a bad idea, and he will show him how to get rich quick- when the naive Pinocchio falls for that line he “Honest John” sells him to the evil puppeteer Stromboli….. then he escapes to “Pleasure Isle” where once again he makes the wrong kind of friend. This time its “Lampwig”, a little boy who convinces Pinocchio that “Pleasure Island” is a great place to be, because you can smoke and play pool and break things. Only at the last second does Pinocchio learn “Pleasure Island” is really run by the Carriage Master, who uses it to attract little boys so he can transform them into donkeys and sell them to work in the salt-mines.
2. Just a cartoon, but all too true to life cf. “20/20” segment several years ago, about the vultures that hang around the bus terminal in New York City; not birds, but humans. Every year thousands of young people run away from home, and invariably many of them head for New York City. There are men who watch the passengers as they disembark from the buses and when they spot one of these runaways, they close in for the kill! They “befriend” them….but in a frighteningly short period of time they have enslaved them!
3. That’s why Solomon tells his son, “No matter where you go, remember what I’ve told you”. Sometimes when we’re young we get caught up in some relatively petty issues and miss the big picture.
a. We want to be “grown up” so we can make our own decisions, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But making our own decisions also means we’ll be making our own mistakes. Not even the best of parents can exempt us from that but they can help us avoid some of the more egregious ones.
b. Parents aren’t perfect- they’re people. But they’re people who have lived long enough to have seen the CONSEQUENCES of choices and who love their children deeply
enough to want to prevent them from experiencing the consequences of the worst choices.
Four sentence sermons:
1. When you weight the wisdom of the world, never forget: not everyone who claims to be interested in you has YOUR best interests at heart!
2. Always remember: no one has a greater investment in your success than your parents!!
3. Don’t become so distracted by the CONFLICTS you had with your parents, that you fail to appreciate the MOTIVATION for their concerns!
4. As you leave to go out into the world, close the door behind you softly; one day you’ll one day you’ll be glad to have a home to come back to.
II. v. 3 4 A GOOD NAME IS PRICELESS!
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.”
1. The RSV translates it “LOYALTY & FAITHFULNESS”; either way, the meaning is clear Solomon is speaking of the importance of CHARACTER, the priceless worth of DEPENDABILITY! He is urging his son to have his priorities in order!
Four sentence sermons:
a. Your good name is one of your most valuable assets, so protect it carefully!
b. Be careful of hasty or impulsive decisions, especially if it involves signing your name.
c. The best time to make a decision is before you have to.
d. Damage done to our reputation is not easily or quickly repaired!
III. v. 5 6 IF YOU LOOK UP, YOU CAN WALK STRAIGHT AHEAD.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight”.
1. Cf. camp in Virginia- walking on trail through woods at camp at night without a flashlight. The kids in my cabin wanted to know how I could see the way? My secret? “LOOK UP.” Above the trail I could see the break in the trees, stars shining brightly. If I tried to look ahead, behind, around would bump into a pine tree! But if I looked UP I could travel down the dark trail without fear.
Four sentence sermons:
1. You can’t get lost on a straight road.
2. You’ll never go wrong in life by doing what’s right – so read God’s word!
3. Only God can see the end of the road from the beginning, so always let him be your guide.
4. We can’t even trust our own judgment all of the time; but we can always trust God.
IV. v. 7 8 SIN WILL RUIN YOU PHYSICALLY!
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones”.
1. (cf. Prov 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” “Fear” means something like respect, reverence!
Immorality will ruin your body.
Debauchery & dissipation.
Reckless living ruins livers!
Four sentence sermons:
1. Smoking won’t make you look cool after it’s given you wrinkles!
2. A moment’s sinful pleasure can bring months of severe pain.
3. Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit – treat it with respect.
4. Don’t run up a bill when you are young that your body cannot pay when you are older!
V. v. 9 10 IT’S WHAT WE GIVE, NOT WHAT WE KEEP
“Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine”.
To “honor the Lord with your wealth” means to give him the FIRST:
doubly true when young! If we start out from the very beginning with the proper attitude towards our money………..Learn to give early in life!
Four sentence sermons:
1. The only sure way to become financially successfully is to spend less than you make.
2. We have to learn how to master our money, or money will be our master!
3. Be as cautious with CREDIT as you would with a loaded gun. “Easy credit” isn’t: you’re signing away your freedom and your future. (cf. Prov 22:7 “the borrower is servant to the lender”)
4. And from the very beginning, always give something to God.
VI. v. 11 12 THE TEST OF CORRECTION.
“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in”.
Four sentence sermons:
1. Don’t kick against correction, if it comes from someone who cares.
2. Our mistakes can be the best thing that ever happened to us, IF we’re willing to learn from them.
3. If we try to be a “know it all”, we won’t know anything. (Cf. Solomon: because he admitted he DIDN’T know it all, he did know it all!!)
4. No one is so intelligent that he will never need to say, I don’t know”;
No one is so big that he will never need to say, I’m sorry”;
No one is so perfect that he will never need to say, “I was wrong”.
CONCLUSION:
1. The book of Proverbs truly is “Life’s Little Instruction Book”! I would heartily recommend it to all our young people today- indeed, to everyone who is interested in a good and wise life! By the way, Brown wrote a sequel- “Life’s Little Instruction Book”, Volume Two: and I’ll let him supply the conclusion to my sermon. As he concludes his list of suggestions for his son, here are the last five:
*Follow your own star.
*Remember the ones who love you.
*Go home for the holidays.
*Don’t get too big for your britches.
*Call your dad.
2. Not bad: but once again, the Bible said it all long ago: “Honor your father and your mother, that it may go well with you and that you may live long ”