“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Prov. 1:7
I recently read a sign that said:
“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting a tomato in a fruit salad.”
There’s a lot of truth there, huh? That sign practically shows you the difference between knowledge and wisdom without even having to spell it out point blankly.
As a teenager, I learned in Sunday School the difference between knowledge and wisdom. I was taught that knowledge is knowing facts, but wisdom is knowing what to do with those facts and how to put them into practice. The whole book of Proverbs revolves around this concept of how to acquire knowledge and then live wisely.
Far above being knowledgeable about every theological concept known to man, above the knowledge of early church history, and above possessing the knowledge of the Hebrew or Greek languages, the author of Proverbs would tell us that there is a piece of knowledge more important than all of that. He tells us that fearing the Lord is the foremost important thing, after which everything else follows. You can line up all of the scholars in the world, but I’ll argue their scholarly title if they first and foremost don’t have reverence for the Lord.
This concept of fearing the Lord has become less emphasized in our churches as everyone wants to consider Jesus as their “buddy”. Yes, Jesus is a personal friend and desires a close and personal relationship with each of us, but He is also our Sovereign Lord who is deserving of reverence and the utmost respect.
True fear and reverence of the Lord is made evidenced by a person’s life and the choices they make. When someone seeks to honor God with their life, they will seek to live their life in accordance with His will.
The second component to today’s verse gives us a personality trait that we should strive not to possess. Solomon says that if you want to act foolish, then choose to be someone who doesn’t like to be corrected.
Hopefully you’re not one of those people, but surely you’ve come in contact with one or two people in your lifetime that knows everything and doesn’t need correction on anything. These people are foolish because their attitude towards their fellow man’s corrections probably resembles very closely their attitude towards God. If they’re unwilling to receive corrective criticism from you or I, then they probably are ignoring the gentle nudges from the Holy Spirit to make changes or corrections in their life as well.
Want to know what I think Proverbs is trying to tell us in this verse? I think he’s saying that if we get the first component right, then we won’t have to worry about the second one. If we truly develop a sincere fear of the Lord, then our attitude and actions will be receptive to correction from our fellow man, as well as discipline from God.
Where do you stand in your fear and reverence for the Lord?
Has He become more of a “pal” to you and you have failed to recognize His sovereignty and authority over you?
Do you see correction and discipline as an offense, or as a way to be made more righteous?
Just as you should never put a tomato into a fruit salad, a believer should never get their priorities out of line. Fear and reverence for God is the first and most important piece of knowledge one can possess. If Jesus is your “buddy” and not your Lord, then maybe you’ve mistakenly put some tomato in your fruit salad!
I recently read a sign that said:
“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting a tomato in a fruit salad.”
There’s a lot of truth there, huh? That sign practically shows you the difference between knowledge and wisdom without even having to spell it out point blankly.
As a teenager, I learned in Sunday School the difference between knowledge and wisdom. I was taught that knowledge is knowing facts, but wisdom is knowing what to do with those facts and how to put them into practice. The whole book of Proverbs revolves around this concept of how to acquire knowledge and then live wisely.
Far above being knowledgeable about every theological concept known to man, above the knowledge of early church history, and above possessing the knowledge of the Hebrew or Greek languages, the author of Proverbs would tell us that there is a piece of knowledge more important than all of that. He tells us that fearing the Lord is the foremost important thing, after which everything else follows. You can line up all of the scholars in the world, but I’ll argue their scholarly title if they first and foremost don’t have reverence for the Lord.
This concept of fearing the Lord has become less emphasized in our churches as everyone wants to consider Jesus as their “buddy”. Yes, Jesus is a personal friend and desires a close and personal relationship with each of us, but He is also our Sovereign Lord who is deserving of reverence and the utmost respect.
True fear and reverence of the Lord is made evidenced by a person’s life and the choices they make. When someone seeks to honor God with their life, they will seek to live their life in accordance with His will.
The second component to today’s verse gives us a personality trait that we should strive not to possess. Solomon says that if you want to act foolish, then choose to be someone who doesn’t like to be corrected.
Hopefully you’re not one of those people, but surely you’ve come in contact with one or two people in your lifetime that knows everything and doesn’t need correction on anything. These people are foolish because their attitude towards their fellow man’s corrections probably resembles very closely their attitude towards God. If they’re unwilling to receive corrective criticism from you or I, then they probably are ignoring the gentle nudges from the Holy Spirit to make changes or corrections in their life as well.
Want to know what I think Proverbs is trying to tell us in this verse? I think he’s saying that if we get the first component right, then we won’t have to worry about the second one. If we truly develop a sincere fear of the Lord, then our attitude and actions will be receptive to correction from our fellow man, as well as discipline from God.
Where do you stand in your fear and reverence for the Lord?
Has He become more of a “pal” to you and you have failed to recognize His sovereignty and authority over you?
Do you see correction and discipline as an offense, or as a way to be made more righteous?
Just as you should never put a tomato into a fruit salad, a believer should never get their priorities out of line. Fear and reverence for God is the first and most important piece of knowledge one can possess. If Jesus is your “buddy” and not your Lord, then maybe you’ve mistakenly put some tomato in your fruit salad!
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