Mickey’s a bright young guy at HUM, trying to get a spiritual walk going. I suggested he begin reflecting on the daily Proverb. He sent this to me about Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:”
For better or worse I would have to say, if I’m being honest, that a large part of my desire for a better relationship with God is drive by the fear of being on the wrong side of the almighty creator of the universe and the futility of finding myself in combat with Him. It makes no sense to pick a fight you have no chance of winning and being in open rebellion of God is foolish when one understands and believes that God created the universe and the very fabric of space and time that universe consists of.
If God exists and has a certain requirement for me, it’s simply idiotic to try to fight that. I suspect Solomon had a similar sentiment in mind with this verse. Fearing God and understanding his infinite power and wisdom is the basic building block on which man can start the search for knowledge of his physical creation as well as the moral standards that God has set down. It may be easier to ignore God altogether and not worry about the affair of being on his “good side” but it does not seem to me to be prudent to do so.
To be a fool is to be one who lacks good sense or judgment and listening to instructions on how to exist in the physical universe dictated by the One who created it probably just makes too much sense for a fool to grasp, they are much happier doing as they please. The wisdom of God flies in the face of human sinfulness due to our propensity to do what we want to do on our time…but who are we to ignore the instructions of the all-powerful Creator?
He ended with this quote “Fearing God is to understand that He is the ultimate power in existence. To ignore that fact is the ultimate exercise in poor judgment.” I think Mickey’s working on something!
One Day at a Time,
Pastor Gary Byers
Deputy Director