The Wisdom of Wisdom, Part IV

The Wisdom of Wisdom

Part IV

Wisdom Begins

If someone asked me to summarize the Book of Proverbs in a single sentence, I would probably choose the verse Solomon places near the very beginning:

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

That statement appears again and again throughout Proverbs.

It is the foundation beneath every other proverb.

Without it, wisdom eventually becomes little more than cleverness.

But what does Solomon mean by “the fear of the Lord”?

Many people hear the word fear and immediately think of terror.

Certainly there are moments in Scripture when human beings tremble before the overwhelming holiness of God.

But the fear Solomon describes is something deeper and richer.

It is reverence.

It is awe.

It is the humble recognition that God is God and we are not.

It is living every part of life with the awareness that we answer to Someone greater than ourselves.

Connie and I have always enjoyed visiting museums.

There is something deeply satisfying about standing before a masterpiece and allowing yourself simply to look.

I remember the first time I saw Claude Monet’s Water Lilies in New York City.

No photograph had prepared me for its size.

The painting seemed almost to surround me. The colors, the light, the perspective—it was breathtaking. I found myself wondering less about the painting itself than about the artist who could imagine such beauty.

The work led me to admire its creator.

The same thing happened when we visited the immersive Van Gogh exhibit.

His paintings filled the walls around us. Sunflowers. The Bedroom. The Starry Night. Everywhere I looked I found myself entering the imagination of a remarkable artist.

Then there was the Salvador Dalí Museum in Florida.

One particular display has remained in my memory.

Standing close to the enormous image, I saw nothing but rectangles of green, gray, and black. They appeared almost random.

I could make no sense of them.

Then I stepped backward.

Suddenly the scattered shapes merged into a magnificent side profile of Abraham Lincoln.

The picture had not changed.

My perspective had.

That experience reminds me of Proverbs.

When we read individual proverbs one at a time, they can seem disconnected.

One speaks about money.

Another about friendship.

The next about speech.

Then humility.

Then justice.

Then work.

Then family.

At first they appear unrelated.

But when we step back and look at the whole picture, a single image begins to emerge.

The Book of Proverbs is painting the portrait of a wise life.

And at its center stands the fear of the Lord.

Only from that perspective do all the individual pieces begin to make sense.

The New Testament invites us to step back even farther.

The Apostle Paul writes something remarkable to the believers in Corinth:

“Christ Jesus…has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”

That statement transforms everything.

The wisdom Solomon described is no longer merely a collection of sayings.

It has become flesh.

Jesus is wisdom embodied.

He teaches us not only what wisdom says.

He shows us what wisdom looks like.

When the world admired wealth, He blessed the poor in spirit.

When society honored power, He welcomed children.

When His enemies demanded revenge, He forgave.

When the powerful exalted themselves, He humbled Himself, even to death on a cross.

The wisdom of God looked like foolishness to the world.

And yet it changed the world forever.

That is why Proverbs continues to matter.

It prepares our hearts to recognize Christ.

It teaches us to admire humility instead of arrogance.

Integrity instead of success.

Justice instead of exploitation.

Mercy instead of vengeance.

Truth instead of convenience.

Love instead of selfish ambition.

The older I become, the more convinced I am that our greatest need is not more information.

Every day we are overwhelmed with news, opinions, statistics, arguments, and endless streams of information.

Knowledge has never been more abundant.

Wisdom has rarely been more scarce.

Perhaps that is why Proverbs feels so remarkably modern.

It reminds us that life is not measured by how much we know.

It is measured by how faithfully we live.

Wisdom is not the ability to answer every question.

It is learning to ask the right ones.

It is not merely understanding God’s truth.

It is allowing God’s truth to shape our character.

It is choosing what is better instead of merely what is easier.

It is investing ourselves in the next generation.

It is walking humbly with our Creator.

The fear of the Lord is not the end of wisdom.

It is the beginning.

Everything else grows from there.

When I finish reading the Book of Proverbs, I find myself praying a very simple prayer.

“Lord, make me wiser than I was yesterday.

Help me to listen more carefully.

Choose more thoughtfully.

Love more deeply.

Serve more faithfully.

And leave behind a little more wisdom than I received.”

If that prayer becomes our own, then Solomon’s purpose has been fulfilled.

For wisdom is never measured by what we know.

It is measured by the life we leave behind.