The key to wisdom

King Solomon came through a rough time struggling through his own existential wisdom journey, but finally he came to the profound answer, summed up in a curious expression: “Fear God”. This, he concluded, is what our human life should be all about.

So are we supposed to live our lives in fear of God? But God is loving, so we shouldn’t be afraid of him. What does the “fear of God” mean?

In another of his books, entitled “Proverbs”, which contains much practical advice, Solomon returns to this question, summing up his thought with a simple but profound maxim in which he lays down the foundation of real wisdom; we do well to take heed. 

This key truth is enunciated in a succinct proverb which recalls his conclusion in Ecclesiastes: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9.10). Before considering what the fear of the Lord means, notice that this is just the “beginning” of wisdom – meaning you don’t even start out on the way of wise living without this first basis. Millions of thinkers have failed to find satisfying answers to the Big Questions because they didn’t heed Solomon’s wisdom at this point. Herein lies the essence of profound God-given wisdom. 

If we want to find it, we must begin by coming to “fear the Lord”. Let me explain what that means, beginning with the negative: it is not intended to teach that we should lead a life of fear, being constantly fearful of God. The idea is rather that we are to take on board who the Lord exactly is. He is no small god; neither is he a divinity invented by some religious philosopher. No, He exists from all eternity, already present before the creation of the universe. He is the mighty Creator, whose power and wisdom are infinite: “he made the earth by his power, established the world by his wisdom and by his understanding stretched out the heavens” (Jeremiah 10.12). The immense number of stars is no problem for him – he calls them all by their names. And he knows every thought that passes through our minds too.

The Lord is absolutely good, both holy in the commandments he gives us, and loving as he calls us to belong to him. In his love, he desires to share his wisdom with his creatures so that we may find the way of true happiness. To “fear” the Lord is to take account of all that God is, in a right-minded openness to his truth. He is absolute Lord, gracious Saviour, and man’s very best friend. Without acknowledging God’s existence, man can never find the true worldview. This is the one essential fact to grasp – taking account of God’s reality is “the beginning” of proper understanding, without which we go obligatorily astray. We need to begin by reckoning on the existence of our Creator.

The Greek philosophers paid scant attention to the basis Solomon laid down in his inspired writings. Their philosophies lacked that necessary wise foundation; godless thinkers have suffered ever since from the confusion of having no absolute grounds for their worldviews.

Does God himself have any real place in your life and in your thinking? Do you realise that he has revealed truth and wisdom to humankind? Are you paying any attention to what he has communicated in the Bible? If you don’t have this key to knowledge, you can’t even begin to know true wisdom. God being the fundamental reality behind all his creation, we can never make sense of it if we ignore him. 

Clive Every-Clayton