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Bro. Turner:
 Do
you understand Prov. 22:6 to say if a child ever becomes
unfaithful it proves the parents were remiss? N.B.
Reply:
Prov.
22:6 reads, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and
even when he is old he will not depart from it." I was once
asked if I believed this was true. I answered, "It is a
true proverb." A proper understanding of its message hinges
on our understanding the nature of proverbs.
A
proverb is a brief epigrammatic saying that is a popular byword;
an adage or maxim, sometimes couched obscurely. It is poetic in
nature, with poetic license. It may contain irony, satire, wit,
etc. If this, with your dictionary, is still inadequate as an
explanation, let's try a non-biblical example. Surely you have
heard: "A stitch in time saves nine!" This is true —
i.e., generally speaking, when we 'put off' making a repair, the
damage grows worse, so that later we have a much larger repair
job to do.
Saves
"nine" (stitches)? Why not "eleven" or
"fifteen"? Because these numbers do not rhyme with
"time." The truth (early repair saves us from having
to make greater repair later) is simply stated in poetic,
epigrammatic fashion. The person who uses this old
"saying" is not trying to tell us the ratio of saving
is one to nine, or any other such detail.
Proverbs
22:6 tells us a truth, viz., generally speaking, early training
establishes the character of an individual, that will stay
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with him through life. It does
not say early training guarantees proper manhood or
womanhood. We are deeply affected by early training, but it does
not destroy our free agency. It does not make our salvation
wholly dependent upon our parents rather than upon our own
response to God's word. It does not establish the impossibility
of apostasy. It does not say a poorly brought up child could
not overcome this great handicap, and obey the Lord in spite
of earlier training.
Proverbs
must be read as proverbs! Prov. 19:4 says, "Wealth addeth
many friends; but the poor is separated from his friend."
ALWAYS? No! It is possible that a wealthy man have no friends;
or that a poor man have many friends. But this general
observation is true to the facts of life. It says people
gravitate toward money, and "friendship" may cover a
base motive.
Prov.
19:24 reads, "The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish,
and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again." Some
sluggards today have never in their life eaten from a common
bowl; but the proverb says, with poetic license, "Some
people are too lazy to eat."
Finally,
the very best way to understand any proverb is to read many proverbs,
over and over again. As one becomes familiar with
proverbs their nature and character will become more and more
apparent. Their purpose is clearly stated (Prov. 1:1-6), and we
would do well to exercise our mind on their "riddles"
(v.6, "dark sayings," see AS footnote.) They give
marvelous insight into the problems of life.
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