Fatherly advice

Good morning! As we move along in the book of Proverbs (I'm afraid we are skimming it for sure) we last read in Chapter 4 some fatherly advice. We were told to pay attention and gain understanding from our father's wisdom. When Solomon's father spoke to him, he was the only son of his mother at the time. He was told to "lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live." Many of our parents gave us sound advice and we were wise to listen and heed it. We are told that wisdom will protect us and wisdom will watch over us. (vs.6) Wisdom is there to guide us, to honor us, it will be a garland of grace on our heads and a crown of splendor. (vs. 8-9) We are told to "hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life." vs. 13 The opposite to this is explained in Vs. 14-15 "Do not set your foot on the path of the wicked, or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way." Evil men cannot sleep until they do evil, they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. How true in our day and age as we see T.V. commericals for new movies full of wickedness and violence. A wise women will keep these types of shows out of the reach of their children and husbands for that matter. Solomon goes on to explain that the path of the righteous is like the first gleam, of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. The light of dawn and wisdom from God verses the darkness of night and the ways of evil. In vs. 18-19 His father exhorted him to pay close attention to his words, to not let them out of his sight, and to keep them within his heart. "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." vs. 23 Our hearts are guarded when we read the Word of God and apply it diligently to our lives. When we say no to the worlds winning ways, when we say no to the flesh that wars against our souls and not to the devil and his angels who wait to cause us to stumble. He ends the chapter with: "let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. Let us exhort one another and especially our children, if we have them, to walk in the light and keep their hearts and ways only for the Lord.