DEVOTION – DAY 204

Proverbs 1:7 “The Wise And The Foolish”

 

Prov.1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

 

Proverbs 1:7 is sometimes considered to summarized the theme of the whole book of Proverbs. In the Bible, the term “fear of the Lord” may refer to a loving reverence for God that includes submitting to His Lordship over our lives and to follow His commands given for us in the Bible. God has given us his instructions in the Bible to enable every believer to grow in spiritual maturity and to fellowship with Him. To have a loving reverence for God is thus a wise thing to do – Proverbs 1:7 referred to this as the beginning of wisdom.

 

On the other hand, there are people who have knowledge about God but they think God is not relevant to their lives. They rather trust in their own abilities and intellect. They rather trust in their academic qualifications, their business contacts, their friends to get ahead in life and they think they have no time for God. Proverbs 1:7 referred to such people as “fools who despise wisdom and instruction.” 

 

The world mourned the death of Virgil Abloh in early December 2021. He died of cancer at the age of 41. Virgil was multi-talented. He qualified as an architect but he branched out into the field of design early in his career. He was also a well-known Disc Jockey, artist, fashion designer and he became the first black man to head the menswear for Louis Vuitton. He had focused his life on building a career around design and the arts and he wanted fame and money. He put his trust in money, position, intellect but in the end, it could not buy him good health. He chose the wisdom of this world rather than follow the wisdom of God and to seek a relationship with the Lord. All his talent did not save him in the end. Virgil is not alone. There are many people who want to live for the moment, to do as they please. They want to set their own rules, and seek pleasure as their purpose in life. Little do they realize that they will be disappointed because this kind of living was tried out a few thousand years ago by King Solomon and in the end, he concluded that everything was meaningless apart from his relationship and fellowship with God. He concluded this in the book of Ecclesiastes found in the Bible. The fear of God is indeed the beginning of wisdom.

 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we worship you for you our Creator, and you have created us to fellowship with you, to love and honor you all the days of our lives. Help us to fear and obey you always. In the precious name of the Lord Jesus we ask and pray. Amen.

 

Questions

  1. Why do people seek after the wisdom of this world? Discuss.
  2. Why do the things of this world disappoint us in the end? Discuss.
  3. How does your relationship with God satisfy you compared to the things of this world?
  4. What steps can you take to remind yourself not to focus on the things of this world but on your relationship with the Lord?