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PROGRAM D-8041
I’d like to share with you five lessons for living from Proverbs chapter three. This chapter gives five important principles that will benefit you greatly if you intentionally apply them to your life, and each principle has a corresponding benefit.
The first one, which we find in verses 1 and 2, is this:
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. (Proverbs 3:1-2)
First, Solomon says, “do not forget.” Are you prone to forget what you should remember? Learning happens because of repetition—that’s how our brains work. If you want to remember what you should remember—specifically, remember God’s principles—then you need to repeat them, re-read them, memorize them, and reinforce them in your mind frequently. That’s why reading your Bible systematically and daily will create pathways in your brain that will help you to remember God’s truth.
This principle for living goes on to say, “keep my commands in your heart.” Again, we see the importance of repetition—keeping God’s principles stored in your heart. That’s why memorizing Scripture is so important to your spiritual progress.
For example, I memorized Ephesians 4:29 years ago, which says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” I recognized that I needed control of my tongue and, after memorizing that verse, the Holy Spirit would bring it to my mind very often to stop me from saying something that I shouldn’t say or that didn’t need to be said. Because I keep that command in my heart, it helps me control my words.
The benefits of keeping God’s Word in your heart are long life, peace, and prosperity. Keeping in mind that proverbs are principles, not promises, then by living in obedience to God’s word and his principles, your life will be much fuller, far more peaceful, and your soul will prosper. That’s a pretty good deal, if you ask me!