One of life’s great joys is helping someone else find their journey to their true home. The most notable of those opportunities is as a parent, or guardian, or key influencer, of a young person.
There is a raging battle for the mind, even soul, of each new generation. The Old Testament book of Proverbs expresses this especially well:
Proverbs 4:1 Listen, children, to a father’s instruction,
and pay attention so that you may gain discernment.
2 Because I give you good instruction,
do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a son to my father,
a tender only child before my mother,
4 he taught me, and he said to me:
“Let your heart lay hold of my words;
keep my commands so that you will live.
5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;
do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will guard you.
7 Wisdom is supreme—so acquire wisdom,
and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding!
8 Esteem her highly and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
9 She will place a fair garland on your head;
she will bestow a beautiful crown on you.”
10 Listen, my child, and accept my words,
so that the years of your life will be many.
11 I will guide you in the way of wisdom
and I will lead you in upright paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered,
and when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
protect it, because it is your life.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of those who are evil.
15 Avoid it, do not go on it;
turn away from it, and go on.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm;
they are robbed of sleep until they make someone stumble.
17 For they eat bread gained from wickedness
and drink wine obtained from violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light,
growing brighter and brighter until full day.
19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness;
they do not know what causes them to stumble.
20 My child, pay attention to my words;
listen attentively to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your sight,
guard them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and healing to one’s entire body.
23 Guard your heart with all vigilance,
for from it are the sources of life.
24 Remove perverse speech from your mouth;
keep devious talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look directly in front of you
and let your gaze look straight before you.
26 Make the path for your feet level,
so that all your ways may be established.
27 Do not turn to the right or to the left;
turn yourself away from evil. (NET Bible)
The following story is told in a book* by Robert J. Morgan:
“…a man … lived in a small house with four children. The garage housed a furnace, a hot water heater, and miscellaneous equipment. This man nailed up some plywood and made a small room with a door, about the size of a phone booth. There he had a little chair, a light, and a shelf for his Bible and prayer lists, and there he met each morning with the Creator of the universe.”
*p. 116, Mastering Life Before It’s Too Late, Howard Books (a division of Simon and Shuster, Inc.), 2015.
I invite you to lead whatever young person may be in your life down the twin journeys in Three Books. You may be the human agent of making an enormous and lasting difference in that person’s life, their friends and future family, and your own.
