7-19-2011 by Boyd Bailey
Genesis of Wisdom
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise." Psalm 111:10
The fear of the Lord is foundational to the attaining of Almighty God’s wisdom. It is out of holy reverence that heaven opens its doors of understanding. The creation will never begin to understand the Creator until there is a coming to minds over who is superior and who is the author of salvation.
Once there is capitulation to Christ, surrender to your Savior, which positions you to receive His good gifts, chief of which is wisdom. Your holy heavenly Father rewards respect and awe with wisdom from above. However, the cavalier takes Christ for granted and loses sound judgment. But, the fear of the Lord is your foundation for wise living. It is in these humble beginnings that wisdom originates.
God’s wisdom is found in God’s word. His precepts are meant to protrude from your mind like road signs on a highway. Sometimes you need to exit for fuel and rest, but other times it is wise to change directions and invite others to join you. To know God, so as to walk upright before Him, is the greatest of all applied sciences. Hence, wisdom is much more than knowledge, otherwise education alone would be the answer to all human suffering. Wisdom confesses Christ as Wisdom.
“It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (I Corinthians 1:30).
It is the life of Christ who models wisdom personified. It is the Holy Spirit who gives illumination and understanding to Holy Scripture. And it is your heavenly Father who invites you to ask for wisdom, so that you can live an obedient in Him. The attaining of wisdom is for aligning your life around the attributes of Almighty God.
You learn to apply what the Lord thinks not only to your life, but for the benefit of others as well. It is not all about you becoming a wise person; rather it is about your life glorifying God to others. Wisdom is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. It is a bridge to obedience. You gain understanding and insight, so that you can be a radical follower of Jesus and a beacon to others.
Practical godliness is a test of wisdom. So use your wisdom to mediate broken relationships, to foresee problems, to serve the team, to love your family and to point people to Jesus. Wisdom places faith in Christ out front and humbly decreases attention away from self. Therefore, use wisdom to gain understanding, obey God and lead people into a growing relationship with Christ. To Him alone belongs eternal praise for His gift of wisdom!
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise" (Psalm 111:10).
How can I grow in my fear of the Lord and grow in God's wisdom?
Related Readings: Job 28:28; Psalm 25:12-14; Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; Acts 9:31
Monday, July 18, 2011
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