How Wise Guys Wise Up

Awhile back, I asked one of our now grown sons what was one of the most spiritually profitable things we did together as a family. Without hesitation, he said, “The Proverbs Studies.” Here is what he is referring to: During our kids' teen years, we would have a family devotional time after dinner. Each night, I would read six verses from the book of Proverbs. We would start at Proverbs chapter ten and work our way to the end of the book 6 verses at a time. This required about 110 discussions together as a family which probably spanned 6-9 months time (because we weren’t all home for dinner every night).

The way it would work is that I would study the appointed verses ahead of time. After dinner, I would announce the name of a child before reading the first verse. After the reading, I would ask the designated child to explain his verse. Then an open discussion would follow. When it seemed like we had a good understanding of the verse in question, I would announce another child’s name, read the second verse, allow her to explain it, and then moderate a discussion. We did this for all six verses for the night.

We went through Proverbs using this method twice – Once in the early/pre teen years, then again in the later teens. Rochelle and I worked at affirming good insights and asking questions when someone’s explanation needed some refining. We strove to keep it positive and encouraging. We also sought to connect the discussion to our circumstances and current events. Our goal was for our children to enjoy talking about biblical wisdom and how it related to their lives. Some nights, the discussion was less than lively, but there were moments when truth was hitting home. Those were fun times!

A key book I relied on for my preparation was Derek Kidner's Commentary on Proverbs from the Tyndale OT series. His volume has a great introduction to Proverbs, a series of articles that summarize what Proverbs says on some key topics, and a verse-by-verse analysis of the text. Kidner’s explanations of each verse are succinct, so pay careful attention. Highly recommended!

We employed other wisdom projects, but this one seems to have had considerable impact. I am grateful for God’s use of these times to help transform some wise guys into two men and a woman of wisdom.

Comments

[C. Brown]

And you and Rochelle did just that! :)