A few years ago a friend of mine, (who shall not remain nameless) Nancy Leigh DeMoss, made a passing suggestion that I couldn’t seem to forget. I even remember where we were when she lobbed out this idea.
We were at Blue Coast Burrito in Little Rock, Arkansas. (I wish they’d open one in Michigan!) Our family was having lunch with Nancy and as is often the custom when we get together, Nancy asked our kids to say any verses they might be memorizing. (By the way, don’t think that the kids always have a verse to say, but this time they did.) I don’t recall what the verses were, but they recited for her, we enjoyed our lunch and conversation, paid the check and headed out to the car. Then it happened. She said these words. Or something very much like these words:
“Wouldn’t it be neat if some parents taught their children to memorize the entire book of Proverbs before they left home?”
I didn’t say anything, but what I was thinking was Oh yeah, that would be neat . . . for some other parents.
Her words slipped my mind for a while, but every now and then her idea of memorizing Proverbs would pop back in my head again. I would think “that’s just crazy!” and move on. Then sure enough, the idea would rear its “ugly” head again. (I was thinking it was “ugly” because I didn’t really want to be the one to “have” to try it.)
Finally after several years of thinking this idea surely didn’t need to be attempted by me, I had to throw up my hands and admit that I needed to give this a legitimate try. And so the kids and I began memorizing the first chapter of Proverbs.
Due to the mature content, some parents are somewhat squeamish about letting their children even read Proverbs 5, let alone memorize it. Let me assure you, I’m not the least bit concerned about Proverbs 5, because at the pace we’re going my children may be out of the house before we ever get there! We’re only on Proverbs 2.
We may not make it to Proverbs 31 — or I may skip a few chapters and memorize that one for the sake of future husbands and wives — but even if we don’t, we have already hidden some powerful portions of God’s Word in our hearts. And now, with my oldest children entering their teen years, I have come to appreciate the words of Proverbs more than ever.
It may seem as though I’m giving Nancy a bit of hard time for making this suggestion, but the truth is I appreciate her boldly challenging us to set “big” goals for Wes and me and for our family. And I thank God for repeatedly bringing this idea back to mind.
So where are we? Well, so far we have memorized Proverbs 1-2:12.
If it’s been a while since you’ve read these passages, take a moment, slowly read them and re-discover how amazing these chapters are! It’s a gold mine. I know as you read them, you’ll be thinking about your kids. There’s so much wisdom in here for our children about godly living.
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
9 for they are a graceful garland for your head
and pendants for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
15 my son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
16 for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
17 For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.
20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
23 If you turn at my reproof,[a]
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
30 would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
1 My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden[a] woman,
from the adulteress[b] with her smooth words,
17 who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;[c]
19 none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.
20 So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.
Memorizing Proverbs may not be what you need to do (unless of course the Holy Spirit won’t let you forget the idea either!). My prayer is that you’ll just add some scripture memory into your routine. Aim for just a single sentence to get started. I know you can do this.
Remember this hope: “All Scripture is God breathed” . . . so it’s not as though you can select a bad portion of God’s Word to memorize. You can’t. Getting His Word into my mind and into the minds of my children has been an incredible blessing for all of us. I’m here to tell you that God is faithful and good to let His Word sink deep down into our hearts. He really is.
