Proverbs 22:15

By ‘foolish’, Solomon means ‘evil’. We all do evil things (Romans 7:19). This is because men and women refused to obey God (Genesis 3). Even a child does wrong things.

But the child can learn to do the right things. And we can all learn to obey God. First, we must ask God to forgive us. We must trust in God. Then God will teach his wisdom to us.

We should teach our children. We should explain how they should behave. We should encourage them to respect God. When they can understand this, they should ask God to forgive their evil behaviour. Our children are not Christians merely because we believe. They themselves must trust in God.

Sometimes we must punish our children. We do not punish them because we are angry. We punish them because we love them. A smack does not always need to hurt. Often a smack should be gentle. It is like a lesson. It teaches the child to behave more wisely.

v16 One man is cruel to poor people, in order to make himself wealthy.

Another man gives gifts to rich people.

Both of them will become poor in the end.