Proverbs 1:7 is very interesting how it starts off. We just read, last week, what the purpose of Proverbs was in Proverbs 1:1-6, and now the very first thing is the fear of the Lord is the bedrock, the foundation, the ground floor, of all knowledge. 

 

In truth, there can be no wisdom or knowledge without the fear of the Lord. Oh, there is wisdom and knowledge. Our colleges are filled with vast amounts of both. But for all that is possessed, have we stopped to wonder why, it seems, that knowledge is in such rare and short supply, and wisdom seems to be ignorance at best? It is because this knowledge is being given OUTSIDE the fear (or reverene) of God. 

 

In Romans 1:18-32, the fact that God is not even recognized is the reason that there is what is called a "reprobate mind". This mind is useless, evil, and sick in every imagination and action. From the sexual sins ranging from pornogrophy to beastiality, to the violence that seems to plague our nation, when will those who are "smart" stop trying to fix the problem with the same exact solutions that have been absolute failures? 

 

The solution to solve these issues is very simple, yet for many, absolutely unacceptable. We must instill a fear of God. God must be taught, in life, and yes, in schools, and lived. As a Brethren, we believe our life MUST be informed by our faith and guided by it. 

 

That means we preach what the Bible says and we live what the Bible dictates. We look to God, not government. We look to His Word for guidance not social structures. We look to His Spirit for strength, power, and truth, not agencies and societal "movers and shakers". When we start to live in the fear of the Lord, our lives, and the lives of those around us will start to change. But this demands that our lives change. 

 

Of course, Proverbs 1:7 gives us another option. A fool despises wisdom and instruction. This post is not designed to lay out how to start living in the fear of the Lord. Maybe that would be a good but bigger post, in the future. But most will choose the fools way. The way that allows the existance to continue as it has and as it is. 

 

In this state, those that chose to ignore God will ignore wisdom. They will live as though God does not exist, and yet God's standards in His Word, the Bible, will still apply to them. In this state, instead of having a mediator between them and the Holy, Righteous God, they will stand before God on their own. 

 

This is where Psalm 14:1 really speaks to this. To ignore the truth about God and to try and live in the make believe world of atheism, does not remove the truth of God's existance. It simply goes to reinforce 2 Peter 3:9. It would be as though we do not believe in showers, washers, or dryers. But it does not mean we won't stink if we don't use them. 

 

Wisdom and the fear of the Lord go hand in hand. One will not exist outside the other. To have true Wisdom, and to start seeing a change in our lives, our homes, our local communities, our state, our nation, we need to change the foundation upon which these structures seem to be propped up. We need to start with a firm foundation of the fear of the Lord. Therefore, unless this verse, which really starts the book of Proverbs, is followed, the rest of Proverbs, with its real wisdom and knowledge, will be missed. And the hope for a better way of living, will be missed as well.