December 8, 2002
“WHERE DOES WISDOM BEGIN?”
The fear of the Lord is the beginning (principle part, the first step, the foundation) of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
The fear of God is not an
elementary stage that we pass through in our lives to reach a higher plateau of
living. The fear of God is a character
development that comes as a result of knowing and understanding who God is and
what He is like. It should control the
Christian’s outlook on life. The fear
of God is the fabric from which wisdom is woven.
Thus
says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty
man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who
boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who
exercised lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in
these things,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
A man may have a Ph.D. He may have much wisdom in the eyes of the
world, but have no fear of God himself.
Someone has said that his Ph.D. stands for “phenomenally dumb!”
What
is a wise man like? “A wise man will
hear and increase in learning (the right kind of learning) and a man of
understanding will acquire wise counsel.”
Proverbs 1:5
1. “A wise man will hear” – sometimes we have to
force ourselves to hear, yet hearing is an integral part of learning (cf. Mark
4:23, 24, Luke 8:18, Hebrews 2:1).
2. “A wise man will increase in learning” (Phil.
3:12-14, I Cor. 3:18, 8:12). The
Christian life is never static. It is
either progressing or regressing. However,
we must be very careful that we get the right kind of learning! A man
approached a speaker and said, “You Christians are brain washed!” The speaker replied, “I think we are all
brain washed to a degree. The important
thing is that we believers choose what to wash our brains with!”
3. “A wise man will attain or acquire wise
counsel”. The idea of counsel is
“giving direction, a plan of action.”
Part of coming to know wisdom is facing challenges. You’ll never develop in wisdom if you never
extend beyond your comfort zone. Seek
advice from wise men, mature Christians.
Read quality books and the Bible should be at the top of the list.
So we see a wise man is not necessarily someone who has acquired a great deal of knowledge – that’s a smart man! A wise man is one who is continually making progress in the right kind of learning, one who is continually learning and integrating the truth of God into his every day life. If he is not, he is a fool (Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7b).
My
challenge to you is to read the Word of God; read and work what you learn into
your life and thinking. Can we do
it? With God’s help, we can. God bless.
Love
to you all,