Engaged, Not Neglectful (Proverbs 29:15)

record and let me pin myself. Pin. I've been pinned. All right, here we go. Yesterday, we talked about in Matthew, we talked about uh being prepared for uh a response and it it was reactive. It wasn't you weren't going out. It wasn't aggressive. Today, we're going to turn the tide a little bit. And today, we're going to talk about something that is proactive versus reactive. And this isn't necessarily about your salvation. And although this text really kind of on the surface sounds like it's talking just about your children, it's really not. So, let me read it.

We're going to be in Proverbs 29 today because it's the 29th day of the month. And Proverbs, as we all know, is the daily built-in devotional for our Bible. So, we're going to be in Proverbs chapter 29. And we're going to touch on verse 15. And verse 15 says, "A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisiplined disgraces its mother." So yes, clearly. All right. Well, uh, I'm on this devotional call this morning and I don't have any children, so this doesn't apply to me. Wrong. And let me explain why. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you're wrong.

So this is when when when Solomon says this, and I'm going to repeat it. He says, "A rod of reprimand imparts wisdom, but a child left undisiplined disgraces his mother." He's not talking about the difference between harsh parenting and soft parenting. He's talking about the difference between uh uh between engaged parenting and neglect. He's he's not saying, "Well, you're the happy, fun Disney World parent versus the one who's got all the rules." He's not saying that at all. He's saying he's this is a comparison between being there for someone and not being there for someone.

And when you're not there for someone, he puts in here, a child left undisiplined disgraces his mother. Disgraces the person who's loving them. Disgraces the person who cares for them. You could interject whatever you want in there. And so why does this apply just not just to parents in the room? because uh this could this could apply to uh a co-orker. This could imply to an employee. This could apply to your brother. This could apply to your your mom, your grandma. If there's something that they need correction on, uh uh 15, a rod and a reprimand.

Grandma went past her boundaries of being grandma. She crossed the line. She's she's she's being mom again and she's not supposed to be. And I I'm I'm using this example because God, I love my mom, but that she could have a tendency to roll that way. And if you leave that unchecked and you don't address that, you're not being nice, you're being neglectful. It needs to be addressed in a loving way. So Solomon here isn't just talking about parenting. He's talking about your relationships. And he's not talking about being the nice friend or the harsh friend.

He's talking about being the friend or the person or the caregiver or lover who is concerned about your well-being. Because if I'm concerned about your well-being, then I have a responsibility to talk to you about that, not to just cover my eyes or bury my head in the sand and hope that you're going to drift toward the right direction. Totally. a friend, a child, a parent, anyone that you love, left unattended, most cases don't drift toward the right conclus conclusion, excuse me. They drift toward the wrong conclusion. They drift toward bad behavior.

Look at yourself. If you don't take, if you don't give yourself a, we used to use this in sales all the time, a checkup from the neckup, where are you going to drift toward? Are you going to drift toward what you should be drifting toward or are you going to drift toward what you shouldn't be drifting toward? And I think everybody can answer that question themselves. And I think everybody knows the answer to that question. And so Solomon although writes this in the context of parenting, this applies to us and it applies to the people that are in and around us.

Uh a rod and a reprimand imparts wisdom. That's what uh James says. Ask for all the wisdom you can want and God will give it to you without finding fault. Proverbs probably says 500 times that wisdom is worth more than gold. It doesn't say it more than 500 times, but I'm just making the point that it's a very important piece of who we are as we walk with Christ. And so, so just being nice is not what he's talking about. He's talking about don't neglect it. It doesn't He's not talking about be harsh or being mean or being kind or being soft. He's saying just don't neglect it.

Go have a conversation. You can be respectful. You can be kind, but don't be neglectful. All right. Thoughts, comments, suggestions? It's a dance event. I'm getting fewer and fewer. I'm either making people mad or or they just everybody agrees. We're both or you you mic dropped. All right. Mic dropped again, right? All right. Well, no one has anything to add. Realize that these are things that make us these are the things inside scripture that make us think, right? These are the things in scripture that we get to take a big bite out of. You know, this isn't a marshmallow that's going to be gone in seven seconds.

This is a big bite of meat and we're going to get to chew on this for a while. We get to we get to think about all right who in my life have I and no one wants to hear the word that you've neglected someone that's a very hard that can be a very harsh word right but but it's it doesn't make it less true who have I under the guise of being kind and nice have I left alone have I neglected have I not gone to them and said hey this is you probably should I can hear you otherwise I can see you but I can't hear Who's that? Okay, but when you say the name of whatever organiz There we go.

Thanks, Eddie. All right. Anybody else? Well, then let's bow our heads and pray. Father, thank you so much for today. And Lord, I I pray that you would you would uh you'd touch each of us that you would you would put that person or or persons on our heart in our minds about uh who we've left unattended. that that relationship that needs a conversation and wherever that might be that you would give us the discernment that you'd give us the right words that the Holy Spirit would guide that conversation that we wouldn't let it go unattended. Um because we we we all know that left to our own device, man has a tendency to go to the wrong direction versus the right direction walking with you.

And so Lord, I just pray that you would give each of us that that we would be able to take that big bite of meat that we would chew on it for a while that we would let it simmer in inside of us so that we would know where we need to go take some action and then how to take that action. What are the right words? When's the right place? Am I the right person to say that? Father, I pray that you just give us that uh that wisdom as James says we should ask for. Father, watch over us this day. guide us as always direct us, give us an opportunity to just be that person that we need to be for someone that we come in contact with today that they would just see the joy in our in our lives that they would see the love in our hearts.

Father, we love you. We praise you. And as always, in your son Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. All right, all see you guys tomorrow. Bye. Thank you. Have a great day. Thanks, Dwayne. Yep.

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly edited for readability.