"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
Fear is a word that brings up all kinds of feelings. For many, it might be the hard hand of an angry father. "You wait until your father gets home!" It might be the difficult boss who constantly keeps his employees on edge with the threat of firing. "I can find someone to do your job at half the price!" It might be an abusive spouse. "You are the dumbest woman to ever walk this earth!" (or worse) It might be the devil. "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) Or maybe it’s God. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)
Teaching "fear" is not popular today. God is presented as this gentle, loving old man and Jesus is His benevolent son. And while that is certainly a part of the personalities of the Father and the Son, it is not a complete picture of them. Throughout the Bible, God is presented as a just being who deals with people fairly and rightly. When people reject Him, He rejects them. When they come to Him with fear and trembling, He comforts them. (Mark 5:33, Philippians 2:12)
Proverbs 9, verse 10 teaches that wisdom is found through the fear of the LORD. In fact, fearing God is where wisdom starts. A proper view of everything has its foundation in our view of God. If our view is that He is the source of everything we have, we view our stuff as His stuff. If we believe that He is the rewarder of a properly lived life, we will live properly before Him. If we understand that He made provision for our sin through the offering of His Son, we live a life of thankfulness. Everything, when viewed properly, begins with God.
The group Acappella sings a song called "Begins". This idea, the idea that God should be the beginning, the source from which we approach everything is conveyed through the lyrics.
"Your life begins with God
Your love begins with God
Your hopes and your dreams
And your plans begin with God"
Beginning anywhere else will surely lead to a different destination. Understanding who God is and how we relate to Him, puts us in a proper perspective as we approach life. Our "world view" will be shaped by our "God view".
I have heard people say, me included that they have some questions for God. Maybe life didn't turn out the way they wanted it to: job lost, loved one died, betrayed by a spouse, on and on, you get the idea. My guess is when we get to see Him, if we get to see Him, our attitude will be somewhat different. Isaiah 6 gives us a glimpse inside the throne room of God. Isaiah reacts much like we will, "Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts." (v 5) Here we see a prophet of God reacting to seeing Him. How much more will we tremble at His sight. In fact, every time a human encounters the God of the universe in scripture, the outcome is pretty much the same.... fear, trembling and the person on their face. At that moment, it is clear who is God and who is not.
To be sure, I am not talking about living our lives in constant fear of a God that is waiting to destroy us, in fact just the opposite. Let's take a short trip back to our childhood, when we were small fear played an important role in our relationship with our parents, in fact it was the beginning of wisdom for us. "Don't touch that stove, it will burn you", "don't go in the street, you will get run over" and so on. Fear kept us alive and still does. A healthy fear of my father kept me from doing many things that I should not have done. As I grew older, my relationship with my father changed, the fear was replaced with respect and love and these things motivated me to conduct my life in a particular way. I know that is a simplistic approach, but the same factors come into play. Fear is the beginning of wisdom; it is not the completion of wisdom. As we mature in our relationship with God, we continue to understand His power and authority, but we also come to know His eternal love and unending compassion and kindness. This becomes the basis for our continued relationship. Fear Him, sure! Respect Him, sure! Love Him, absolutely! What father wants his children to fear him their entire lives. He uses fear for a time to protect them and then shows them love that lasts a lifetime. At least that is what a good father does, and we have the best in God.
May we begin with fear and end with love, all the while growing in wisdom and helping others to meet a loving God that will judge everyone.
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