Keys to Successful Living

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction…My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.  Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.  So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.” –Proverbs 1:7; 3:1-4 (ESV).

Many view Proverbs 1:7 as the key to the whole book of Proverbs.  Indeed, to hold God in awe and reverence and to have a personal relationship with Him is the beginning point of successful living. And what can we count as success?  Not necessarily accruing possessions or earning prestige and acclaim among peoples.  The wise man who penned the Proverbs knew that to seek the Lord and to please Him was the ultimate pursuit.  Jesus also emphasized “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).  In advising that his son should follow the way of steadfast love and faithfulness all of his life, the writer of proverbs called to mind a covenantal tradition of binding love and faithfulness about the neck and writing them on the tablets and wearing them close to the heart.  This was a symbolic way of emphasizing the importance of the commandments.  In that way they symbolically made the fear of the Lord, love and steadfastness a part of daily living.  The promise is that this lifestyle will produce favor in the sight of God and man.

The writer of Proverbs makes this way of life seem simple and attainable.  Was he aware of all the pitfalls of daily living?  Of the struggle to make a living as well as to make a life?  The buffets and setbacks that occur along the road of attaining goals?  My thinking is that because he did know the struggles involved in living a good life, he could speak authoritatively about how to set a course for successful living.  He is talking about the things that really matter here:  peace, contentment, favor with God and man.  To follow sound instruction and to live by the principles of God’s Word are major keys to a life of contentment and peace.  Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe, a noted Bible scholar, states:  “Obedience to the Word can add years to your life and life to your years”  (The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament.  Colorado Springs:  Cook. 2007, p. 1063).

In this forty-day period of concerted prayer for our nation, we have talked about and pled for America to turn again to the Lord so the He will hear and answer our pleas.  Here in Proverbs are the keys to successful living for individuals who make up our nation.  The basis for changes must of necessity begin with individuals, people, one-by-one, as we evaluate our own lives and seek to align our way of living with those we learn at the feet of our Master Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ.  What will we give up?  What changes will we make?  What difference will this call to repentance and faith make with us?

Prayer.  I confess, Lord, that I have been selfish and self-seeking.  I have many times thought more of my own welfare than the welfare of others.  May my resolve to be steadfast and prayerful, faithful and responsive to Your will make a difference day by day where I live.  Thus, You have promised that one-by-one, we can be as light in the darkness.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.