Don't Outgrow Good Instruction

Speaker 0:01

Gentlemen, every day is a battle. A battle for your faith, your family, and your purpose. The men who stand strong don't prepare when the battle arrives, they prepare before it begins. Welcome to the Men's Morning Devotional. Let's get into God's word. It's time to man up.

Steve Alessi 0:27

Good day, gentlemen. I'm Steve Alessi, and it's time for another man up moment. Don't forget to share this devotional with a brother. You know he's going to need it. If it's blessing you, it's going to bless him. Now we'll continue looking through the book of Proverbs at chapter six, and our devotional today is going to be about a man who is challenged to not outgrow good instruction. I like this one. Proverbs chapter six, twenty through twenty-three. My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever. Fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you. When you sleep, they will watch over you. When you awake, they will speak to you. For those commands are a lamp. This teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life. There's something that happens to us as men throughout our life. When we're young, we think our parents know everything. Then we get a little older and we start thinking our parents know nothing. All because we think we know everything. And then somewhere along the way, if we're wise, we realize there were some things our father and our mother were trying to teach us that we should have paid more attention to. Solomon tells his son, Keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teachings. In other words, don't forget what you were taught. Now, none of us had perfect parents, and some men may not have had a strong father or mother in their lives. But the principle is bigger than that. Wise men stay teachable. So all of us should have voices in our life that we respect enough to listen to, like a parent, a mentor, a pastor, or even a trusted friend. And I would even say we need to let the word of God speak into our lives. And when that occurs, Solomon says to bind them upon our hearts. Why? Because there will be moments when you're going to need that wisdom that you just heard. Maybe you'll be sitting in a business meeting and something inside of you says, don't make that deal. Maybe you'll be tempted to say something to your wife and remember, a soft answer turns away wrath. Maybe you'll even be making a decision about your kids or your finances, your career, your future, or something that you were taught years ago will all of a sudden come back to you and it's going to help you. That's exactly what Solomon says. When you walk, they will guide you. When you awake, they will speak to you. See, good instructions has a way of staying with you. Now, Solomon then adds something most men don't enjoy. I know it hurts, but get this. The corrections of discipline are the way of life. Now, yeah, guys, we love instruction. Tell us how to do it, we'll do it. But we don't always like correction. There's something in a man that wants to say, I've got this and I know what I'm doing. Nobody needs to tell me how to do it. But at times the most valuable voice in your life is the person who's willing to say you're wrong. You need to rethink that. That's tough. A foolish man gets offended by correction, but a wise man gets better because of it. The older you get, the easier it is to surround yourself with people who agree with you. So don't do that. But instead, keep people around you who love you enough to encourage you and even correct you. We call it calling you up. Because according to Proverbs, correction isn't trying to make your life miserable. It's trying to keep your life on the right road. Here's your man up challenge for today. Ask yourself who has permission to correct me? Not criticize you, not tear you down, no, but honestly tell you when they see something in your life that needs attention. If you can't think of anyone, that's something that you need to work on. And if someone gives you correction today, resist the urge to immediately defend yourself. Listen first. There may be some wisdom in it that keeps you from making a mistake. So stay teachable. Let's pray. Father, keep our hearts teachable. Thank you for people you've used to put wisdom into our lives. Help us remember what we've been taught and give us humility when we need correction. Let your word be a lamp that guides our decisions and the light that keeps us on the right path. Make us men who never become too old, too successful, or too proud to learn. In Jesus' name, amen.

Speaker 5:18

All right, gentlemen, you've heard God's word. Now go live it. Lead well, stand strong, honor God in everything you do. Share this devotional with another brother. Remember, every day is another opportunity to man up.