"I pity the fool!"
Every child gifted to a home is from the very beginning a "fool." But no one wants to wake up one day to discover that they have raised a fool!
Solomon wrote, "A foolish son is destruction to his father..." Proverbs 19:13. The aching of one's heart to discover that he has raised a "fool" for a child is indescribable! Solomon knew from first-hand observation the incredible grief a parent endures when the children in one's home are head-strong, stubborn, self-willed, unteachable. His own brothers repeatedly broke the heart of their/his father.
- Amnon was committed only to the gratificatio of his own fleshly desires. Friendship choices proved unwise and injurious. His beautiful sister suffered the pain and humiliation of his unwillingness to exercise self-control. And he died at the hand of his own revenge-seeking brother.
- Absalom was a man of unbelievable promise. He was good looking, enormously gifted, charismatic in personality, influential in impact...and headstrong to his own destruction. The narrative of Solomon's home life was a saga of sorrow as David's sons proved themselves to be fools. "A foolish son is destruction to his father..."
Every child gifted to a home is from the very beginning a "fool." The question is: What KIND of fool is this child? Proverbs identifies three possibilities:
1. When hearing wisdom, does the child say, "Huh?" The child is a simple fool - this is the untrained one, the simple and naïve child, gullible, impressionable and SAVABLE! There is no shame in being a simple fool...unless, of course, one remains such.
2. When hearing wisdom, does the child say, "Nah, I don't think so"? The child is what Proverbs would describe as a classic fool - this is the spiritually sluggish one who has chosen to maintain a resistance to wisdom and moral good-judgment. She/he may be smart, but they are not wise. We would probably label them, "self-willed" or "headstrong." They are still savable, but they are not yet open to God's working in their hearts.
3. When hearing wisdom, does the child say, "Ha! You have got to be kidding!" The child is a scoffing fool - not much hope for this one...destruction lies ahead.
On-target parenting recognizes that God has given to us the task of raising up a new generation of wisdom...but the child we are given is from the beginning a "fool." Parenting on target is the focus on the heart of the matter which is a matter of the heart. For "foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child..."
The joy of discovering that after years of diligent, intentional, sacrificial effort, the fruit of a parent's labor has produced a child of wisdom is an unparalleled experience of joy! "My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart also will be glad; and my inmost being will rejoice, when your lips speak what is right." Proverbs 23:15-16
Perhaps a better question at this point would be: What kind of fool am I? "I pity the fool!"
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