The other day I was tasked with putting together a piece of furniture Pam purchased from Ikea a couple weeks ago.  And like most times, I proceeded to put the furniture together without reading the instructions.  For some reason, I tend to operate in this manner when assembling products that come in pieces that need to be put together.  There's something about not liking the details so I try to put things together without instructions. In other words, I'm willing to take a chance that I can do it without making the choice to read the directions.  Needless to say, I was able to get going but eventually, I needed to make the choice to read the instructions. 

 

And so it is with many of us in life. Many times we try to live our lives by chance rather than by choice.  God gives us instructions about how to go about every aspect of our lives but so often we'd rather take a chance than make the choice laid out in God's instructions for life.

 

Here in our text, we find the writer of Proverbs sharing some important information with his son about life. This father gives his son some pointed instructions that will affect his son's fitness, finances, and faith. We too can take a lesson from the writer of Proverbs as he shares principles that enhance our fitness, finances, and faith in God.