The Importance of Roll Models

“That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.” (Pr 2:20 AV)

In a list of reasons for attaining wisdom, Solomon list discernment as another.  That is, discernment as to which examples to follow and which to avoid.  Walking in the way of good men here is not walking with them.  Rather, because Solomon is tying it with keeping the paths of righteousness, he is instructing his son to follow in the way of good men that he might keep for himself the paths of righteousness.  In other words, Solomon is teaching his children wisdom so they can recognize it in others.  If they can recognize the wisdom in others, by using them as examples, they will gain more wisdom. This is more than having the right kind of friends.  It is having the right kind of mentors.

When I was a kid, I delivered newspapers.  Part of the right of passage was finding a part-time after school job which could forever replace the dreaded paper route.  One of my good friends worked with his father in the family business.  The Pasquale family owned a lumberyard or two.  Louis was a good friend and after a round of golf, I would go and hang with him.  At first, his father objected.  It was too dangerous of a place and I would keep Louis from his duties.  However, I convinced Louis Sr. that I would help out around the yard to earn the privilege of hanging with my friend.  It was partly the companionship we shared.  But I also enjoyed learning from him, his father, and his uncle.  They treated me as someone worth in whom to invest their time and knowledge.  These fellas were hard workers.  For the most part, Louis and I loaded lumber into customer’s vehicles.  At other times, we would be tasked with storing away product.  The other major chore was to clean up around the store.  As I remember it, I never did get paid a cent for helping around the shop.  However, what I walked away with was far more valuable than a few dollars.

There are many ways to learn.  We are to read and study the word of God.  We are to read it daily.  We are to take notes.  We are to meditate upon its pages.  We are to pray over it and ask the Spirit for a deeper understanding.  When it comes to wisdom, it is one thing to know the letter of the law.  Quite another to see it applied.  What the encouragement above does for us is to give us an example of how to apply that which the word of God instructs.  Equally so, by walking in the way of good men, we are encouraged.  We see examples who have toughed it out and who live that which they profess to believe.  There is a common camaraderie in the general path of righteousness.  If they can walk that way, so can I.  If they walked that way, they experienced what I am experiencing now and they persevered.  Walking in the way of good men makes one proud (if I can use that term) of being part of something greater than oneself.  Working with Louis at his father's lumber yard, it gave me a sense that life was bigger than a fourteen-year-old’s world.  There were bigger tasks.  There were greater responsibilities.  There were more important things in life than the freedom to ride a bicycle or get a driver’s license.  Walking in the way of good men will one day, make a good man.