The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Rewards, Not Promises

Proverbs often holds out the stick and the carrot to motivate people to the best type of behavior and attitudes. Those actions it characterizes as wise often are accompanied by reward, and those it characterizes as foolish are said to result in punishment. Indeed, the ultimate reward for wise behavior is life, and for foolish behavior is death.

However, these rewards and punishments are often misunderstood by modern readers, who take them as promises. The proverb form is not in the business of giving out guarantees. For instance, consider Pr 22:6:

Start children off on the way they should go,
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

This proverb provides strong motivation for a parent to provide proper education. “The way they should go” is defined by the values and principles in Proverbs. But what exactly does the second part of the proverb tell us? Again, Proverbs does not give promises; rather, it tells us the best course to a desired end, all things being equal.

Of course, children are more likely to be godly if they are trained in such a way. But other factors may enter in. Perhaps the child will fall in with a bad peer group against the advice of the parents (see 1:8–19). The parents should nonetheless follow the advice of 22:6 and increase the likelihood that their children will stay on the right path.

If you have children, how are you leading them in “the way they should go?”

Taken from the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition.