DEVOTIONAL

THE BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE 

RECAP: PROVERBS 1:7

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

            This fascinating phrase does not, of course, mean that it’s smart to be scared of God.  After all, Adam and Eve were scared of God after the first sin.  They ran away and tried to hide, which wasn’t smart at all!  First off, they couldn’t really hide from God.  And second, only by running to God rather than away from Him could they have found relief from their guilt.

            No, the “fear of the Lord” isn’t being scared at all.  What it means here, and in most Old Testament texts, is simply to have respect for God; to be fully aware and in awe of the fact that He is living and present.

            This, the fact that we take God’s existence and His presence into account when thinking about any issue or making any decision is, “fear of the Lord.”  And this, taking God’s existence and presence into account, is the beginning of knowledge.  If we take God into account, we look to Him for guidance.  And we find it, for “the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (2:6).

            What a blessing to be among those who fear God and look to Him for wisdom. 

            But what a challenge to realize that we are responsible to live wisely.   We are called not simply to know the will of God, but to let wisdom “enter your heart” so that we will “walk in the ways of good men and keep to paths of the righteous.  (vv. 10, 20)

 PERSONAL APPLICATION

God’s wisdom is displayed in the way we live, not in what we say.

QUOTABLE

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise.  Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it.  There is no fool so great as the knowing fool.  But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” ---Charles H. Spurgeon

DEVOTIONAL

THE MEASURE OF A FRIEND

READ: PROVERBS 18:24

“A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.”

            Abraham Lincoln once said, “Die when I may, I would like it to be said of me, that I always pulled up a weed and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”

            A popular song once proclaimed that, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love, that’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.”

            These two quotes remind us that our attitude grossly affects our altitude.

How high we reach, to what honorable heights we excel, will be determined by the spirit of our heart. 

            Although no one ever rises above the level of his or her thinking, a person can rise much higher when the level is lofty instead of lowly.  If we really want to see positive change in our families, churches, and communities, then our thinking and our attitudes must begin to reflect and resemble that of Christ.  We must learn to think of others before we seek to satisfy self.  We must learn to be the type of “friend that sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

            Who doesn’t need a friend? Though it seems that starting friendships is relatively easy, the art of cultivating them is often more difficult. But as Disciples of Christ we must seek to establish and develop meaningful friendships with others, for by doing so we perform the work of Christ.  Thus, we must be like Christ and be the kind of friend who is always interested in fostering new friendships as well as rebuilding broken ones.

Personal application

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.            (PROVERBS 22:1)

QUOTABLE

 “When we as Christians are beset by the works of an unseen foe, we are also befriended by the work of an Unseen Friend.  Great is our adversary, but greater is our Ally.” –our friend, the Lord Jesus Christ. ____ Vance Havner