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Father Wisdom’s Warning

Father Wisdom’s Warning

Proverbs 1:8-19

8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
9 They are a garland to grace your head
    and a chain to adorn your neck.

10 My son, if sinful men entice you,
    do not give in to them.
11 If they say, “Come along with us;
    let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,
    let’s ambush some harmless soul;
12 let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
    and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
    and fill our houses with plunder;
14 cast lots with us;
    we will all share the loot”—
15 my son, do not go along with them,
    do not set foot on their paths;
16 for their feet rush into evil,
    they are swift to shed blood.
17 How useless to spread a net
    where every bird can see it!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;
    they ambush only themselves!
19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
    it takes away the life of those who get it.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION ®. NIV®. COPYRIGHT © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by
Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Discussion Questions

  • Have you ever done something selfish that harmed someone else? Why do you think you did that?
  • Why is it so easy to be so selfish?
  • Why is the fool’s invitation so appealing?
  • In what areas of life are you most likely to take them up on the offer?
  • According to proverbs (and the rest of the Bible), what happens to people who go this way?
  • We’re told that if we learn from wisdom, it’ll be like a crown and a necklace (beautiful). What do you think it means to behave beautifully?
  • How does Jesus help us better understand and appreciate this beautiful way of wisdom?