WHERE KNOWLEDGE BEGINS
Proverbs 1:7 NKJV
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Many of us know people who are smart, really smart. These are the people who rarely studied in school, scored high on tests, and made the rest of us appear a step or two slow. And yet, some of these very same people have not done well in life. Being smart is not always synonymous with being successful.
And we all know people with high IQs who have no respect for God. Some of them do not even believe in His existence. But our verse for today says that the fear or great respect for the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Indicating that without a fear or respect for God, people have not even begun to be wise. So, it’s obvious that the Scriptures look at knowledge, wisdom, and foolishness in a very different light.
The Scriptures distinguish spiritual wisdom from natural or fleshly wisdom. When Paul wrote the Corinthian church, he stated that the Jews want a sign, and the Greeks seek wisdom. But we proclaim Christ crucified. This is foolishness to those who do not believe. God’s wisdom is different from the wisdom of the world. And we can be thankful for that. In God’s wisdom, we don’t have to be IQ-smart to have a relationship with Him. We don’t know God by being book smart. We know God by believing the foolishness of the cross. But God’s wisdom is always smarter than anything men can come up with.
So, back to our verse for today. Anyone who has a heart that respects and honors God is a person with knowledge, a person of wisdom. And anyone who refuses God’s wisdom and instruction is a fool. Those are not my words; this is the inspired wisdom of God speaking. Again, keeping in mind that some of the smartest people we all know are fools in God’s eyes. We are constantly having to change our perspective to align with what God is saying in His Word.
The good news is that we can be wise in God’s eyes and still operate with a high IQ. Add high IQ with the wisdom of God, and now you have a much stronger proposition. Sadly, too often, the wise of this world are not willing to humble themselves and recognize the need for God. I have watched good kids go off to college and walk away with their faith in tatters. The intellectual world thinks dimly of God’s wisdom. But Paul, who was intellectually quite brilliant, says it best in 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
So here is where we all can be smarter. Have a reverence for God and His Word. Receive His instruction and wisdom and move to the top of God’s class.