Solomon's Prescription for Wisdom - Proverbs 3:7

In our text, Dr. Solomon gives us a three-fold prescription to remove any cancer that prevents wisdom from growing: be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

This prescription requires a healthy dose of humility. There is no greater enemy to godly wisdom than pride. Pride and conceit are a high offense to God - God resist the proud. Those who are wise in their own eyes, see no need for godly wisdom. In fact, they obstruct godly wisdom. After all, how can you teach a know-it-all?

Next, the prescription requires that we fear the Lord. This is the key to gaining wisdom since the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the Lord is opposed to pride and vain conceit and causes us to place our faith in God, increase our dependence upon God, acknowledge God, seek God for direction, and have a heightened sensitivity to not offend God.

Finally, Solomon requires that we depart from evil. If we have the proper fear of the Lord, then we will have a fear of sin and its destructive nature. This includes departing from evil such as self-confidence and self-conceit. The fear of the Lord influences men to not only avoid sin, but abstain from the appearance of sin. All godly men and women who proceeded us understood these principles and took their medicine faithfully.