Wisdom - Fear of the Lord
The path to critical thinking must begin where wisdom begins, with the Lord and with the fear of the Lord. Time and again we are told, by David, and especially by the wisest man of human history, his son, King Solomon, that wisdom is not something that comes with age or experience, but wisdom is a gift from the Lord and has its beginning in the fear of the Lord.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” (Psalm 111:10 (ESV)). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10 (ESV)). “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor” (Proverbs 15:33 (ESV)).
This fear of the Lord is not necessarily a being afraid; although, as we stand before our Lord in all our sin, deserving nothing less than His eternal judgement on us, we should be afraid. Rather, this fear of the Lord is a reverent respect for our Lord, our Creator God. This fear begins with acknowledging that the Lord is the Creator, and as the Creator, He knows, more than anyone, what is mete, right, and salutary in His world.
True wisdom is a gift given to those who fear the Lord, who acknowledge that He is the one who is the ultimate authority and the ultimate one to whom we must be responsible. True wisdom is freely submitting to our Creator God, letting Him have His way with us, and being given His Word and guidance over our own opinion, reason and strength, which we know is fallible.
“Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent” (Proverbs 17:28 (ESV)).
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