Proverbs, chapter 22

¹ A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. – Proverbs 22:1

I love my Study Bible. It’s notes are straight and to the point in terms of what some verses mean. It points out this very verse as the entire point of Proverbs. The value of our character does not carry a dollar amount. It is not measured in our bank accounts or in the property we own. It is based solely on our name. What we do, how we treat people, and how we live our lives it what gives us our character. God tests us each in a variety of ways. How we respond to those tests is what makes up our name.

⁶ Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it. – Proverbs 22:6

This is critical in how people turn out. If a child is raised properly from birth it will be much easier for he or she to develop that good name that is so critical. Parents have a huge responsibility to do this. It means saying no when the situation calls for it. It means providing discipline and rules. I see so many parents these days that think saying no to their children is bad. They let the child control them, not the other way around.

This is why I am thankful that my father was such a student of the book of Proverbs. The time for me to have children has not come yet, but now that I am 30 I can see many moments where his nos and his discipline were applied perfectly. I really have reached a moment where it makes sense for me, and I am all the more thankful for it. I think that is a major reason why I find myself here writing about the book of Proverbs because he loves it so much. I know that when I tell him he did a good job raising me and my sister I see in his eyes a moment of satisfaction that was a long time coming. I hope to have the same with my own children some day.