SERIES: Deep Relationships in a Digital World — Proverbs
TEXT: Proverbs 1:1-7
MESSAGE: “The Fear of the Lord or the Feed on Our Phones”

“No one thinks of himself as an entertainment addict, wasting away his life on impulsively foolish, self-indulgent, self-destructive endeavors. But if an objective observer from a pre-digital era followed you around for one day and watched you compulsively check your phone, refresh your email, ogle at social media, binge videos, and tune out your children with AirPods, what conclusions would he draw? Would he see an addict?” — Patrick Miller

“Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” — Proverbs 25:28

“Proverbs is a collection of generations of wisdom…this book is a guide for how to flourish and thrive in God’s world.” — Bible Project

“There is calculation in Proverbs, for there is every encouragement to count the cost or reward of one’s actions, and to study the ways of getting things done; but wisdom as taught here is God-centered, and even when it is most down to earth it consists in the shrewd and sound handling of one’s affairs in God’s world, in submission to his will.” — Derek Kidner

Q: What does today’s text tell us about wisdom in a digital world? It gives us three insights — That God’s wisdom is…(1. Timeless 2. Comprehensive 3. Foundational)

1. Timeless (v. 1)

“The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel…”

• “But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” — 1 Kings 3:7-9
• “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five.” — 1 Kings 4:29-32

“…a seemingly innocuous invention — fundamentally altered human perception of time and divine providence. In his exploration of the clock’s influence, Postman underscored its role in shaping a secular mindset. Initially developed to regulate the schedule of Catholic monks, the mechanical clock transcended its clerical confines, introducing a new temporal consciousness to society. Prior to the clock’s widespread adoption, time was perceived as a divine mystery, governed by the celestial bodies God set in motion. This celestial time was less about accuracy and more about rhythmic harmony with creation. However, as the clock began to dictate the cadence of daily life, it introduced a new conception of time as a quantifiable and controllable entity. This marked a departure from a God-centered universe to a human-centered one, where time became a resource to be managed and optimized, inadvertently nurturing a secular worldview.” — Joe Carter

“What does this mean for us? We need to see that the Son of David—Jesus of Nazareth—has established a messianic kingdom by fulfilling the wisdom of Proverbs. He is the wise Messiah promised in Isaiah 11 who will reestablish the harmony forfeited at the fall. We need to submit to his loving and wise rule so that he can produce wisdom in us. That’s our only path to wisdom.” — Daniel Akin

2. Comprehensive (v. 2-6)

“To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, 3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; 4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— 5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, 6 to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.”

3. Foundational (v. 7)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

“Because of sin, there are barriers between us and God, between us and others, and between us and the world around us. We no longer rightly perceive the way the world works — we no longer recognize the order — so we can’t navigate through daily life. God created the world with an order to work in a certain way, and we must live according to that to be truly wise; but in our brokenness we don’t see it. Proverbs is all about restoring that harmony through Jesus Christ. Proverbs is all about becoming wise in everyday life through a relationship with Jesus — through the gospel. It’s about the life of the kingdom that God always meant for humankind to live.” — Daniel & Jonathan Akin

“A simple person is too concerned about what other people think, whereas the fool is a person who’s not concerned enough. They’re both (the fool & the simple) out of touch with reality…Simpletons aren’t in touch with reality; they’re in touch with their friends. Fools are not in touch with reality; they’re in touch with their own pride, their own dignity.” — Timothy Keller

“Facebook, Twitter, and other companies use methods similar to the gambling industry to keep users on their sites.” — Natasha Schull

“The great appeal of short-form video content—pioneered by TikTok and replicated by Meta and YouTube—is that the brevity allows the user to pull the lever constantly. The brain is constantly releasing dopamine as it anticipates the reward…swipe. swipe. swipe. swipe. Every time we do it, we are rewiring our brains the same way gambling addicts do…Dopamine media is the most powerful, pervasive, and engineered form of communication technology in human history, and it’s not shaping us to love Jesus most.” — Patrick Miller

TAKEAWAYS: How can God redeem us from the feed? By…

• Actively Seeking Wisdom
• Limiting technology’s influence

“Rather than uncritically embracing the latest innovations or reacting against them, we need a framework for wisely discerning technology’s effects — both positive and negative — on our faith and practice. This means asking hard questions about how a given technology shapes our perceptions, affections, and imaginations. It means considering its implications for spiritual formation, biblical literacy, relational intimacy, and more. Ultimately, the call isn’t to abandon technology but to bring it under Christ’s lordship.” — Joe Carter

“Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. 34 Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. 35 For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. 36 But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.” — Proverbs 8:32-36