Don’t Expect a Proverb to be a Promise

BIBLE MEDITATION

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Some parents have almost put themselves in an early grave because they have a wayward child. Someone has taken this proverb and beaten them over the head with it.

Friend, this verse is a proverb. If you read the book of Proverbs and try to turn proverbs into promises, you’ll lose your faith. A proverb is a proverb. A promise is a promise. A precept is a precept. A parable is a parable. A prophecy is a prophecy. You have to be careful.

Some proverbs tell you the way to be wealthy. Does that mean everyone who follows one of these proverbs is automatically going to be wealthy? A proverb is a general principle that when generally applied will bring a general result.

ACTION POINT

Instead of grabbing Proverbs as promises, ask God for discernment. He desires us to “rightly divide the word of truth,” not use it as a club to beat up fellow believers. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” 2 Timothy 2:15.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers