Wisdom and Fear of the Lord

As we think about the book of Proverbs, we need to recognize there are two main characters throughout this book - the wise and the foolish. The wise person is characterized as:

- One who fears the Lord

- One who is devoted to Christ (since Christ is wisdom personified)

- One who is future oriented

- One who considers the consequences of their actions

- One whose judgements are deep

- One who increases in wisdom as they age

In contrast, we have a fool. Now the fool is not simply a silly person or one who is mentally dull, they are immoral in that they refuse to submit to God's wisdom. The fool is a practical atheist. This does not mean, necessarily, that the fool denies the existence of God, rather the fool is one who lives their life as if there is no God. This means there is no fear of God in the heart of a fool. As a result, the fool lives their life as though there are no consequences to their rebellion. As we journey through the book of Proverbs, we will note several characteristics of the fool:

- They put their reasoning above the wisdom of God

- They level charges against God when their plans are frustrated

- They trust their own abilities rather trust in God

- They refuse instructions and despise wisdom

- They have no reverence or fear of God

We need to examine our lives to determine if we exhibit wise or foolish characteristics. We need to examine our lives to see if we really fear the Lord. The book of Proverbs reminds us over and over again - the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If we desire wisdom and to grow in wisdom, then we have to start here.