Consider these words:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
-Proverbs 1:7
To reverently fear the power and might of the Lord, to trust and depend upon Him, and to love and be amazed by Him is the beginning of knowledge. The question is: Is that how you will begin 2014? Because true knowledge and wisdom flow from the fount of knowing God and knowing oneself, whereas foolishness (and, consequently, the being of a fool) flows out from spurning God, His word, and refusing to understand our existence in light of Him.
Undoubtedly, there will be those who scoff at such a statement. They will make snarky comments about why one should not trust in such a God. They will ridicule the words of an ancient book, written by supposedly inferior, uneducated peoples, about a violent, capricious tribal diety in an effort to explain the world around them. They will recount the great works of those who have never believed, the wisdom and knowledge of those who have not stooped to the level of faith in the God of the Bible, and so on and so on.
And yet, despite the great common grace of God shown to such brilliant minds through the annals of history, such achievements and “wisdom” are all for not; such is not what consists of real knowledge and wisdom. Why? Because they fail to acknowledge that which is the foundation, the source, the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. I believe Solomon was correct when he said:
To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth–Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles…(Prov. 1:2-6)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
So this year, will you begin in this way? If you are a Christian, will you let such a principle guide you in living to the glory of God in all facets of your life? And if you are not a Christian, I challenge you to consider again the claims of Christ–who He said He was and is, what He did and does–and decide today if you will begin on the way of true knowledge, wisdom, and righteousness: faith in God through Christ Jesus.
Have Thoughts?