Bringing Joy

"A wise son make a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother" (Proverbs 10:1).

We are entering a long stretch of Proverbs (chapters 10-15) which contrast the life of the wicked and the life of the righteous. These proverbs show us the reality of living wisely as well as living foolishly. Our lives will have impact; the question is whether the impact will be positive or negative; whether we will bring joy or grief to our parents.

Today's passage tells us that the life of the son will either bring joy or grief to his parents. To mention the father in one line and the mother in the other is very common in proverbial literature. The point of today's proverb is to affirm the joy a wise son brings his parents in contrast with the grief the foolish son brings.

I would think that all of us, if we were to be totally honest with ourselves, would say that we want to bring our parents joy. Those of us who are parents definitely want our children learning from our teaching and advice. We feel the joy the proverb mentions when we see that our children listen to us. We also feel the painful grief brought on by their foolish behavior.

This translates well in regards to our relationship with God. As His children, a great motivation is to see Him experience joy over how we live our lives rather than the grief that comes from seeing us live foolishly. When all is said and done, I want to bring joy to my earthly parents as well as my heavenly Father. The same is true for my children. I want them to know how thrilled I am when their life is lived well and how grieved I am when they miss the mark.

Children can bring either joy or grief to their parents. Knowing this, I would hope children everywhere, us grown-ups included, will make wise decisions about life. I hope our motivation is always to bring joy and not grief.