When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. (Proverbs 4:3, 4 ESV)
There are few things in life worth watching better than seeing three generations joined together by a common bond and sharing their insights to enhance each other.
Sometimes at a family barbecue or particular over a sporting event, it’s just great to see the interactions that take place. The first generation bamboozled by the language of the third generation and the second generation merely bemused by the gap and yet bridging it by allowing the elder to connect with the younger by something they can all understand. In all the confusion there’s still a desire for the generations to enjoy each other’s company and exchange values of life. It’s beautiful.
Understandably then, when the man in the middle generation counsels his son, he makes reference to the most valuable thing his father told him. In doing so three generations come together over that of the greatest value. In this instance, the language used is one that the three men can understand – the language of intimate relationships with a woman. The imagery used to personify wisdom is something that all three generations can understand and apply. Treasure, value, esteem, pursue, desire, honour – all words that spring to mind in something so simple, but yet as far as the second generation is concerned is the one thing that can allow the third generation to succeed even as the first generation did.
There’s not much in this life that you could genuinely say the more you value it, the better tit will enhance your life. Take a car, for instance. In as much as it maintained and nurtured, the reality remains it is depreciating in value whether in monetary or mechanical terms. That’s symptomatic of so many of the material goods in which we invest time and energy into. It’s not to say it’s not worth it, it’s just to point out that as the thing of ultimate value it doesn’t give as good as we look for. Whereas with wisdom we have a quality of life that gets better and better as we pursue it. As we get to know wisdom more and more, so we appreciate life all the more and puts things like the car in its proper perspective.
That’s why wisdom through the generations remains a n aspect of life worth pursuing above anything else.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 