Proverbs 5:1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding
Anyone who has ever been a father has probably said at some point, “That’s my girl!” or “That’s my boy!” You take pride in your child and what they have done or who they are. At the same time, the same dad can say to his wife, “Do you know what your son did today?” or “Your kid is crying,” when it is three o’clock in the morning. So, being a father means taking ownership.
Proverbs 5:1 says, “My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to mine understanding.” You can be passive or you can be a parent, but you can’t really do both at the same time. Parenting means taking action and particularly, as in Proverbs 5, being a father means taking ownership, taking action.
In the first place it says, “My son, attend unto my wisdom.” He is indicating here that he takes responsibility. This is action and faith. It does not negate a child’s responsibility to do what the child must do. In Proverbs 5:22-23 it says, “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden him with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction: and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” So, if there is a son or daughter who does not listen to their parent’s instruction, the child is responsible for their own actions, but there is a sense in which a parent, here a father, takes responsibility. “My son.”
Then he says, “Attend unto,” literally “prick up your ears to,” “my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding. This is stewardship. I have wisdom and understanding that I didn’t have when I was a child, but I do now. You see, protection is not from the child’s understanding. How much does a four-year-old understand about the dangers of the highway? The answer is little to nothing. So a parent says, “Don’t play in the street.” The child may not understand why he is not allowed to play in the street, but that doesn’t matter. Protection doesn’t come from the child’s understanding; it comes from dad or mom’s understanding.
The ultimate goal is that the child himself will understand, but there will be no opportunity for understanding if there is not obedience to mom or dad. If a child gets hurt in the street, he may not have another chance to learn. Someone may say, “Experience is the best teacher.” Well, I’d rather learn from your experience than from mine. Experience is what a father and mother have.
In Proverbs 4:3-4 the father says, “For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.” He [my dad] taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.” So, don’t let your past blackmail your child’s future. God has given your child parents in order to give him correction and direction. Being a parent, specifically here being a father, means to taking ownership, responsibility, and stewardship.