The Beginning of Wisdom
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." — Proverbs 9:10
What Is Missing
If there is one thing conspicuously absent from our churches today, it is the fear of the Lord.
The angels — and even the demons — must stand amazed at our lack of reverence for God.
"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." (James 2:19)
Read that carefully. Demons have better theology than most of us and a far better sense of proportion. They believe accurately, and their response to accurate belief is to tremble.
We believe the same facts and yawn.
Where Wisdom Starts
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10)
Note the word beginning. Not the peak of spiritual maturity — the entry point. Everything else in the Christian life is built on top of it, which means a believer without it is building without a foundation.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." (Proverbs 1:7) "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life." (Proverbs 14:27) "By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil." (Proverbs 16:6)
That last one is worth noticing. Men depart from evil not primarily because they have been persuaded it is harmful, but because they fear God. Take away the fear and the departing tends to stop.
What the Fear of the Lord Is Not
It is not terror of a capricious deity. God is not moody, and He does not need to be appeased.
It is not the fear of a slave, which the New Testament explicitly says we have not received (Romans 8:15).
It is not incompatible with intimacy. The same Bible that says fear the Lord teaches us to call Him Father, and both are true at once. In fact the people in Scripture who were closest to God were the most undone in His presence — Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, John on Patmos.
It is a sober, accurate sense of who He actually is — of His holiness, His power, His justice, and the fact that He is not answerable to us.
Point to Ponder
Demons have better theology than most of us, and a far better sense of proportion. They believe, and they tremble.
Verse to Remember
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." — Proverbs 9:10
Question to Consider
When did I last feel anything approaching awe of God?
Today's Practice
Read three passages today, slowly and aloud, and let them do their work without hurrying past them.
Isaiah 6:1–8. Watch what happens to the most righteous man in Judah when he sees the Lord. His first words are not worship — they are "Woe is me! for I am undone."
Ezekiel 1:26–28. Watch a prophet reduced to describing what he saw in a stack of approximations, and then falling on his face.
Revelation 1:12–18. Watch the disciple who leaned on Jesus' chest at supper fall at His feet as dead when he sees Him glorified.
These were not distant men. They were the closest.
Then pray this and mean it: "Lord, reveal something of Your greatness to me. Put in me the holy fear You deserve and that I have entirely lacked."
Be careful. It is a prayer God answers.
Prayer
Father, I have been casual with You.
I have spoken about You lightly. I have prayed to You while distracted and thinking about other things. I have made requests of You in a tone I would not use with a magistrate.
The demons believe and tremble. I believe and yawn.
Reveal something of Your greatness to me. Not enough to destroy me — I could not survive it — but enough to correct me. Put in me the holy fear of which You are so deserving and which I have entirely lacked.
Let me be a person who calls You Father and trembles at Your word. Both. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning." Not the summit — the entry point. Everything else is built on it.