Joel M Bradshaw

11I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.–Proverbs 4

The context here is the king communicating to his son, the prince. The expectation was that he was his son’s teacher and leader. I am not assuming that I am that for you. But, I want to take a different approach with this one this morning.

1. YOU HAVE A TEACHER. You have someone in your life whose example you follow, whose teachings you crave. Maybe it’s someone you read or a social media you pay attention to. The person who if they spoke to you, no matter how hard the message, you would appreciate and want to put into practice. You no doubt have that person in your life.

I remember mimicking my speech when I visited my family. I have memories of a college professor that said a word I thought was cool and I would work that word into conversation over Christmas break. Or later when I was a youth pastor, cool slang phrases from the guys in my youth group. I would mimic the speech of others, and not always in a good way.

Who do you mimic? Who speaks into your life? You have a teacher in some way or fashion. You devour their books or binge watch their episodes. But that’s not all…

2. YOU HAVE A LEADER. You not only learn from a teacher, but are most likely being led down a path. You need to recognize what path you are on and who you are following down that path. Is this a profitable or a wise path? Is this path leading you closer to God or closer to you?

In college, we were told to follow the path of self-discovery. I wish I would have followed other Christians in my life and traveled down the path of honoring God and focusing on discovering his will for my life. I mean, as I look back at my story, I DID have those moments, and they changed my life and career trajectory, but I wish God was more my focus all along instead of me. I was leading myself horribly during those years in my stubbornness versus following leaders God had placed in my life.

You have a teacher. You also have a leader. I didn’t post this proverb assuming that person is me. I wanted to explore the concepts with you. I needed this at a younger age. I need it still. So take a step back and ponder whose teachings you follow and which path you are on. What is the end goal of your path?

Yeah, I know this one was a bit odd and philosophical, but I’ve seen it happen so many times with so many people. People mimic others and they try to walk the path they see other people walking in life. We live in a society of influencers that prides itself on having followers.

Who do you follow most? What direction are you heading?–JMB