“My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad. My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right. Let your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off” (Prov. 23:15-18, ESV).
A teacher who is like a father speaks to his student as a son with these affectionate counsels. The quality of the heart of the son affects the joy of the father in his heart. When the son is able to articulate what is right and act upon it in life, his inmost being of the father is filled with joy. Such an interconnection is more than a mentoring relationship. It’s a father-son relationship in which their hearts are joined.
What is right and wrong is not defined by our own moral standards. It does not come from our own religiosity either. It comes from the fear of the Lord through which we know who the boss is in life: God is the Creator, Sustainer, Provider, and Redeemer. He is the source of hope. He is the reason for us to press on with faith. God who is love is the reason for us to learn to love the unlovable.
Prov. 23:23 says, “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding” (ESV). Godly thinking and upright living don’t come to us spontaneously. It requires some sort of efforts to attain it. No pain; no gain. They are precious, and they are not easy to get. Once we get it, we don’t give them up for the lesser goods. Rather, we keep them even though we need to give up the lesser goods. In the parables, Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matt. 13:44-46, ESV). Once we find what is invaluable, we sell the lesser goods to get it, not vice versa.
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