March 1
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
The beginning, the foundation, the rock on
which everything else stands is the fear of the
Lord. Without that, everything else you learn
is in vain, is foolish. All knowledge, unless it
stems from respect for, awe of, and, yes, fear
of Who God is, will crumble. What do you think
discipline has to do with this?
For the story behind Three By Fives, click here.
Mom, you’re wonderful. (As I am still a couple days behind), I read the “love is not rude”, and the following card that talks about the danger of pride. Ouch! So, I asked God to remove my pride… again. Truly, the scariest prayer to pray, knowing that God will answer, and that it will hurt. Thanks for being my mama.
Mom and Annie, thanks so much for agreeing to share these. I LOVE it!
Nothing like greeting your very first post with a question (forgive me), but why does this verse come across as harsh? Fear? Fools? How is this supposed to look, every day?
(I don’t mean to put Mom on the spot – it’s directed toward anyone with perspective on this.)
Obviously this is only my perspective, but how this is true in my life:
It takes a “breaking” of sorts in my life for me to really “fear God”. That may seem harsh, but it is in that brokeness, that I finally stop fighting so hard and realize that God is God and I am not. Call it “fear”, if you will, but it is in this being humbled and conquered, that I discover an overwhelming Grace and Peace and Love that surprises me, changes me. The change isn’t “wisdom” as much as a knowledge (from experience) of that Grace and Peace and Love. I suppose it’s the living in that Knowledge that changes our actions and makes us seem “wise”.
As for the “fools” part, no idea! haha.
Wow! That question about discipline suddenly made me think of what James says in Chapter 1:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will
be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the
sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive
anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (verses 5-8)
It’s like, if you are going to waver, and not trust that God has the wisdom you need and that He will give it to you, then you don’t REALLY fear Him, do you? So the discipline is the staying-in-there, trusting His wisdom, instead of running off and finding someone else that will give you some false wisdom, just because you want immediate gratification. Kinda like Eve did in the garden: Satan tells her she can have that wisdom NOW, and so she eats, instead of asking God. And kinda like I did all last week (sigh).
Debbie, I don’t believe God is harsh at all, just uncompromising. He knows that He is the only way we can make it through life safely, and we should be afraid to do it any other way than His. You aren’t harsh, but uncompromising, when you tell the kids they can’t go play out on the mountain by themselves. They may not see the dangers, but you do. We are foolish if we try to live life any way but God’s way. It leads us into dangers that we don’t see from where we are. It’s God’s love and mercy that calls us to a fear of Him. Within Him, we are safe and secure, tenderly cared for and delighted in, nurtured and strengthened, healed and purified.