To my son.
Of all the things on offer in this world, there is one thing you should set your heart on before pursuing anything else: wisdom.
As you take your first steps out of youth, both the world and the future lie before you. The question is: which matters more? Only wisdom will enable you to answer this properly, and navigate the implications rightly.
Many have chased the world only to forfeit their future. It is all too easy to indulge your senses but slaughter your soul. Wisdom promises to guard you from this by helping you see through the shallowness of the here and now. It helps us by deepening our insight into things, and so it equips us to diagnose, discern and decide the best course through life.
Your Mum used to say to you regularly: “make good choices.” The Bible says: “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching, for they will be a garland of grace on your head and a gold chain around your neck.” Proverbs 1:8–9. I’m writing this, humbly aware of my own failings and weaknesses as a parent. But I also write it confident in our God’s good judgement on all things. Life is better when we align ourselves to his good will and ways.
Don’t reject your mother’s teaching. I pray you will be a man who aspires to “make good choices”. The book of Proverbs is a treasury of wisdom for guiding us in those choices. It is concerned for the goodness of your future, not for the gratification of today. The thoughts I share here pick up on some of the main themes addressed in Proverbs. My goal is wisdom’s goal: to guide you not only in life, but to life.
And so, I hope these words will help you to see how all things hold together in Jesus, and how he alone-as the way, the truth and the life-is the true wisdom from God. The greatest choice any of us can make is to live in step with him every day. By faith.