PROVERBS 1
The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
– Proverbs 1:1-7
PROVERBS 1 THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Every form of knowledge and wisdom is from the Lord
No one can claim that they are wise when they don’t know God
God is the giver of life and only though him can we receive wisdom
Without the fear of the Lord, we will be foolish, ignorant and dumb.
In our current information age, many people assume that gathering and having information is enough for them to navigate this corrupt world. Sadly, this is a big lie. Having information isn’t the same as knowledge and wisdom. In the book of James, he mentions that we cannot just be hearers of the word, but we must also be doers of the word too. What good is it to have knowledge and not put it into use?
In the book of Proverbs, Solomon gives us the source of wisdom. It is the fear of the Lord that begins wisdom. In other words, those who do not know God may never experience wisdom. They may have head knowledge of something, but they do not know absolute truth which only comes from believing that God is the source of all things. He is wisdom himself, so, if we acknowledge and believe and serve him, we automatically become wise.
REFLECTION
- What do you think is the difference between being intelligent and being wise?
