The Beginning of Wisdom

   I had in mind to write a story about loitering, which I will still do at some point, but for now, I have decided to record my responses to a preliminary study of BASIC - Fear God, which is the first installment of many in a video driven small group experience by Francis Chan that we will be starting here at God's Garage on February 3, 2012.
   The first portion of this material will take us through 3 areas of study and discussion, and is arranged in the following order:

Session 1 & 2 - Fear God
Session 3 & 4 - Follow Jesus
Session 5 & 6 - Holy Spirit

and an additional Session will also be included in the last week of this curriculum, which is projected to be week 7. So, now that you know the outline of what this study will look like, let's turn our attention back to the first week of material from the 'Follower's Guide' which will guide each group member from day to day between large group meetings.

PSALM 111:10 - NLT
Fear of the LORD is the foundation of *true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever!

*khokmah-(Hebrew) - Wisdom. This noun means the capacity to understand information and situations, and thus have skill in applied living. It is similar to discernment and perception. Another meaning is the ability to construct and craft items, a kind of skillful understanding.

   As I read this passage, and really try to wrap my mind around what David might have meant by this, I turn to the Hebrew word 'kokhmah' for a better understanding of what is being asked, and I am reminded of how often I fuss about not understanding why so many 'Christians' act so unwisely, and refuse to accept the Bible for what it says, and to live accordingly.
   If 'fear is the foundation of true wisdom', then I must realize first and foremost, that I am building on something, or Some One rather, and so I would have to say that I feel as if man has developed his own description of God, and has long since grown distant from what the Bible says, even when God describes Himself for us over and again in Scripture.
   So, with that being said, I feel that David calls the fear of the LORD the beginning of wisdom because if we had a natural, healthy, fear of the awesome power of God, we would most likely not be inclined to form God in our image, or into the person that we want Him to be, and by having a healthy view of God, we would allow God to reveal Himself to us, and we would not need to form an opinion of who we think He is, and therefore forsake our own human wisdom.
   For so long man has done this, and I think it is one of the leading reasons why we see so much drama and division in churches today, especially when the leaders are serving a God that they have manipulated into a more manageable God.
   If I am to ever gain wisdom, then I need to pay special attention to those in the Bible with great wisdom, and learn from them, which leads me to point out what Solomon had to say in Proverbs 3:5-6 in the NLT.


5: Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 
6: Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Now this is some solid food to chew on! Just as David instructed us to obey God's commandments, we see Solomon tell us much the same thing here in this Proverb, in that he says; 'Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.'

   It makes me sad to know that we try so hard to do what we think is wise, and many times we never even ask God for wisdom, even though we know that James in James 1:5 told us that God will not withhold wisdom from us if we ask for it. Instead, we choose to flounder around on our own, and then we blame God for our failures. Go figure.
  I'll close this entry for now, but I will re-open it to finish this post, and to reflect on question 2.