“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools*despise wisdom and instruction.” – Proverbs 1:7
The word fear in this verse doesn’t mean we are to be afraid of God. He does not rule and reign based on His followers being terrified of wronging Him. No, fear in this case means reverence or awe. We are to revere God with a sense of awe and wonder. We are to bow down to His infinite wisdom and His unconditional love and mercy. Once we recognize God for who He truly is we will begin to glean knowledge from Him through His word, the Bible. Now this all takes faith and trust which we would have had to have had to believe in God to begin with. Believing in His word and applying it to our lives will result in spiritual maturity and growth. To pick and choose what we believe or don’t believe is nothing more than trying to seize control of a life that we cannot live without God’s help. It's in surrendering our will to God that we start to see the reality of things. Scripture becomes clearer and our faith becomes galvanized. Don’t be the fool who despises instruction. Yield to the Spirit of God and grow in the knowledge of the Lord. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!
*The Hebrew words rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, denote a person who is morally deficient. [BibleGateway.com]
