Letter to the Congregations: 31st October 2026

Our dear brethren,

“My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; for they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck” (Proverbs 1:8-9).

The instructions given through King Solomon in his portion of the book of Proverbs is a reminder to take the good things that we have learned and put them into practice in life. Solomon here describes the good, positive, helpful, godly instructions given through parents as they teach their children (both through words and actions) how to live life in a successful way.

I should take a moment to acknowledge the fact that not everything that parents do or say is perfect, and I also haven’t met a person yet who has put the good instruction and wisdom of their parents into practice perfectly. Either way, as Solomon alludes to, at a certain point it is the responsibility of the children to take what their parents have taught them and be successful along their own path through life.

Continuing on in the book, Solomon further warns the generations to follow him that there will be moments when foolishness and sin will be enticing to them. I’m sure you’ve experienced this in your own lives, having seen some of what the world has to offer, being a mixture of the knowledge of good and evil. The wisdom from righteous parents, which ultimately comes from a righteous God, prepares us to “not walk in the way with” those who truly seek to do evil things (see Proverbs 1:15-16). Even when the intentions are not evil, we must be aware of what is actually pleasing to God.

And so as we navigate life we pay attention to wisdom. This is wisdom from the written word of God, this is wisdom from the wise counsel we seek when we aren’t sure which way to travel, this is the wisdom we gain from comparing our own failures to the word of God as we mature through life. Solomon personifies wisdom as a woman crying out to us loudly, reminding us that there are many sources of godly wisdom we can and should draw from. There’s no need for us to try and navigate the world alone.

“Wisdom calls aloud outside; she raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city she speaks her words: ‘How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you’” (Proverbs 1:20-23).

In this chapter Solomon goes on to show, through this Lady Wisdom, how the refusal to follow sound advice, sound doctrine, sound teaching of the truth can lead to calamity, to mocking, to terror, to destruction. “But whoever listens to me” (to wisdom) “will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil” (Proverbs 1:33). If we are following the wisdom from above, and if we are seeking wise counsel from wise people (and that includes following the wisdom that is given to us — otherwise it is useless) then we truly have nothing to fear. When so much is happening around us let’s rely on the wisdom given to us from the word of God so we can continue forward on the path of life without fear.

Our love is with you,

Lewis VanAusdle

Pastor, United Church of God

NYC, NJ, CT, Malawi, Zimbabwe