Are You Well-Adjusted?

Proverbs 1:8 – My son, Hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother.

    God speaks to us as His own sons and daughters, and because He does, our hearts are reassured of security for the future. A father is one who initiates a life but also inspires that life toward the future. My son, you are uniquely connected to a family. You have been born into protection and provision and you have been given a place in the home which is filled with love.  You do not need to struggle for identity, or clamour for attention; you have it. You are my son. You have a wealth of privileges. However, you also have a great responsibility because of what you have. To whom much is given, much is required. You are my son and that means that you are to be the builder of the family name. As sons and daughters, we are to build the family of God; that is our great calling. To build takes time and it takes tact and skill. We are builders of people, not destroyers.

    To hear the instruction of your Father is to pay great attention. It is so easy to be within the sound of someone’s voice but not truly hear. We might hear, that is, our eardrum may have vibrated with sound, but our mind has not caught the meaning of the sound. We must train ourselves to hear; to listen very closely and pay great attention. If we never actually hear and listen to God or others, there will never be any change in our life. Good counselors those who have trained themselves to hear what people are saying. If we get this listening part right, we are covering a lot of ground on the right path.

AS SONS AND DAUGHTERS, WE ARE TO BUILD THE FAMILY OF GOD; THAT IS OUR GREAT CALLING.

    

What is it that we are to pay attention to? We are to hear the Father’s instruction. When we hear the term instruction, we most often think of teaching and education, but it includes so much more. A skillful parent is one who not only teaches the child but trains the child. The time comes when the little ones must stop wearing diapers and so we train them, we do not just instruct; truly, it is not called potty-teaching. Training is the important thing, both in child-rearing and in life, and all of us must be continually trained in the ways of our Father.

    The instruction of the Father also includes warnings, which, if heeded, can save a person from a lot of unnecessary trouble. Warnings are always given ahead of time so that the one being warned can slow down, make the necessary adjustments, and thereby avoid harm. There are extreme weather warnings and there are construction-site hazard warnings; there are health warnings on the cigarette package and there are labels warning us of flammable material. Wise and rare is the one who heeds God’s warnings.

THE TIME COMES WHEN THE LITTLE ONES MUST STOP WEARING DIAPERS AND SO WE TRAIN THEM, WE DO NOT JUST INSTRUCT; IT IS NOT CALLED POTTY-TEACHING.

    

Can we receive the instruction and accept the correction of our Father? If we are being corrected by God, it is because He loves us and wants us to mature and learn to make better choices, thereby creating a better and more stable life. Are we teachable? Or do we think we already know? We live in an uncorrected society. Many adults of today did not have proper training by correction and so, do not know how to respond when being corrected. This is quite tragic because these very same adults are now in positions of authority in government, workplaces and, yes, even churches; we have uncorrected leaders and so the cycle of diminishment and depletion continues.

    Let us settle this fact; we will never outgrow the need to be instructed, corrected and re-directed. Indeed, our progress is qualified by our response to God’s correction; if we constantly defend ourselves and make excuses, we will never change. Correction is normal to any life; the captain of the airplane makes constant corrections to the speed and route of the aircraft so that the passengers will arrive safely at their intended destination. Be encouraged, friends, because the Captain of our salvation also makes constant corrections to our demeanor and direction so that our lives will fulfill His intention and we will arrive safe and sound, welcomed with open arms at the door of His house.