"Thoughts On Proverbs"

The book of Proverbs is a book to gain wisdom from God. Let's define wisdom: "The ability to see through things, to see what needs to be done and when it needs to be done." Often we hear people speak of learning from their mistakes. What if we had spiritual wisdom and insight to not make those mistakes to begin with? All true wisdom in founded in God. Wisdom from God will bring instruction to your life. Instruction teaches, directs and guides us. Wisdom from God gives one understanding and if received, it will change your behavior (Prov. 1:2-3). God's wisdom will teach you what is right, what is just in one's behavior and what is fair (equity).

Where does one begin to gaining this wisdom from God? "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Prov. 1:7) This is an eternal principle! This is the way God operates. A reverence and respect for the Lord puts one on the road to gaining knowledge. Knowledge will instruct us how to walk faithfully, to do what is right in all situations. Fear of the Lord means one has to adjust to God and His ways and not bring God into our ways! This is the starting point and no one will gain wisdom from God without this.

What about a fool? They despise wisdom and instruction! You can't tell them anything because they are too quick to reveal their own minds, their own thoughts and their thinking is more important to them than the Lord's! That's why you hear someone say, "Nobody understands how I feel." They are stuck on themselves. There is no fear of God and that makes them foolish. There are 5 different words in the Hebrew for the word "fool" as used in the book of Proverbs. (1) The term "fool" used in the above verse means a person that is stubborn, refusing to yield to wisdom while set in their mind to do things their way. (2) There is the term "fool" that means a boaster, someone who is always trying to impress others. They talk a lot! (3) Another word for "fool" used in Proverbs is a person who is self confident in their own natural abilities. They depend on those natural abilities to take them through. You can see why they are called "fools." (4) There is the "fool" who is an empty person and very content on staying the way they are. They have little to no interest in getting stronger or gaining insight from the Lord. (5) The final term for "fool" used is a person that is thick headed. No amount of correction will change their lives.

The fear of the Lord is the best path to follow and fear of the Lord means there is no "but" or "you don't understand how I feel" attitudes. It is a healthy, reverence for God and who He is. He holds your eternal destiny in His hand and will have the last say in your life. That should give us all pause and think about our lives. Read the book of Proverbs with these thoughts in mind and you might be surprised what happens in your life!