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Just Do Nothing, and You’ll Ruin Everything

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As a general rule, I try not to yell at my children. But there are rare circumstances when I find myself with no other option.

One of those times occurred at the end of a summer picnic at a friend’s house. In the process of gathering our gear, we lost track of our two-and-a-half-year-old twins. Unbeknownst to us, they had overheard that we were leaving and had run around to the front of the house and across the street to our van. They were quite proud of their speedy preparation for our imminent departure.

When I finally realized where they were, I ran out front to check on their safety. They saw me coming and began to re-cross the street, until I screamed, “STOP!” just before the next car sped by. Terrified by my uncharacteristic loudness and tone, both boys started crying. It took a while to calm them down, but it was worth it to have them unharmed.

cheerful young woman screaming into megaphone
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In this section of Proverbs, wisdom is pictured as a woman who shouts at us on the street. It’s easy to be offended by her rebuke, but it’s really in our best interest. Her wisdom is readily available (Prov 1:20-21, see below), but we choose to ignore it because we love being simple (Prov 1:22-23). In making this choice, we willfully reject God’s plan for change and replace it with the bitter fruit of deception (Prov 1:24-28) and desire (Prov 1:29-31). In the end, our own complacency destroys us, unless we listen (Prov 1:32-33).

Wisdom is Available

Do you feel like you can’t change? Wisdom is available!

“Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
In the markets she raises her voice;
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the city gates she speaks.” (Prov 1:20-21)

It doesn’t get any more public than this. Wisdom cries “in the street,” “in the markets,” “at the head of the noisy streets,” and “at the entrance of the city gates.” If there is a place where people might gather, she’s there.

The point is simple: Wisdom is available. It is everywhere. We think we can’t change. We believe no one understands us. We assume we’re on our own. However, we’re surrounded by people with decent advice on important topics. We have no excuse for remaining immature.

I’m not very handy when it comes to mechanical things. I’m much happier with a book and a bar of chocolate than with a hammer and a workbench. So when my wife informed me one evening that the pilot light on our gas oven had gone out and dinner was going to be late, I panicked. Upon recovering my senses, however, I remembered that wisdom on such matters is readily available. So I whipped out YouTube, searched for videos on “gas oven pilot light,” and found the instruction I desperately needed. I’m happy to announce that nothing blew up that night, and all were warm and well-fed.

What does this principle look like on a larger scale? We know that wisdom involves much more than just learning how to ignite a pilot light. If wisdom, as we concluded before, is ultimately a continual striving to know and do what the Bible says, and wisdom is readily available to us, then we have no one to blame but ourselves if we fail to honor the Lord. It’s not my parents’ fault for raising me this way. It’s not my pastor’s fault for not taking more of an interest in me. It’s not my spouse’s fault for making me angry. It’s not the Lord’s fault for putting me in this situation.

The Lord “has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pet 1:3). He’s just waiting for us to turn to him, and he will pour out these resources on us (Prov 1:23). We have books, sermons, and role models right at our fingertips. If we can’t find wisdom, we’re probably just not looking.

This post was first published in 2012.

How to Honor God with Your Money

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Tilemahos Efthimiadis (2006), Creative Commons
Tilemahos Efthimiadis (2006), Creative Commons

For the last few weeks, we’ve been studying what Proverbs says about easy money.

Believe it or not, trusting in Jesus will actually improve your money management. When you’re not so concerned about wealth, you can treat it rightly. If it’s not your hope and security, you can use it as a tool. You can afford to lose it. You can risk giving it away or sharing it with others. You can put it to work to gain more so you can give more. Here are some ways you can serve God and love others with your money.

  1. Make a budget. (See Prov 27:23-27.) In a time of sanity and thoughtfulness, plan out how you think God would want you to use your money. A budget helps set bounds on greed by defining reasonable guidelines for spending.
  2. Get counsel on your budget. (See Prov 15:22.) Find a wise person whom you trust. Ask him or her to look at your plan and give you fresh insight on the wisdom of it. Few sins are as blinding as greed (Matt 6:19-23), so an unbiased set of eyes can help reflect reality.
  3. Track your budget. Your plan does you no good unless you daily keep track of whether you’re following it or not. Keep all your receipts. Develop a system for recording them and measuring whether your spending is within the bounds of your plan.
  4. Consider setting a minimum percentage of your income for giving. That way, as your income increases, your giving will increase as well. As income increases, it’s likely you can also increase the percentage you give away.
  5. Save for your children. (See Prov 13:22.) Even if you don’t have any yet, it can help you take your eyes off yourself if you set aside money designated for future generations.
  6. Save to give. You can’t predict the future, so you won’t be able to anticipate many needs. Consider regularly setting money aside with the intention of giving it away as God brings unforeseen needs to your attention.
  7. Claim all your tax credits and deductions. It might sound strange, but many people don’t do it! For example, did you know that, in the U.S., you might not have to pay tax on money you donated to qualified charitable organizations, including your church? Check out the IRS Guidelines or talk to a financial adviser for more information. If the governing authorities are willing to exempt you from some taxes, why not take them up on it so you have more with which to serve others?

As Bruce Waltke puts it, “Sinners love wealth and use people; saints love people and use wealth to help others.”[1] The latter is what Jesus did for us. His Spirit is now in us, empowering us to do the same to the glory of God.

What ideas do you have about how reject easy money and honor God with your resources?

[1] Proverbs 1-15, p.193. (affiliate link)

This post was first published in 2012.

Easy Money is Self-Destructive

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Easy money will keep you from being wise because it turns you from the Lord to focus on yourself. And self-focus is ultimately self-destructive: Easy money “takes away the life of its possessors.”

Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
It takes away the life of its possessors (Prov 1:19, ESV).

Remember how to get started on the path of wisdom? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov 1:7). If we desire to be wise, we begin by focusing on the Lord, continue by focusing on the Lord, and end with focusing on the Lord. We must admit our weakness, own our failure, and trust in Jesus for life and security. He rewards us with wisdom, instruction, righteousness, discretion, and attractiveness.

We forfeit all these gains when we turn inward. We begin to doubt God’s Word. We think that Jesus is neat and all, but he can’t really help us in the trenches of life. What we really need is a more diversified portfolio to protect us from a recession. Then we get proud in our choices, confident with the future, and less needy for a Rescuer. We lose the trust of those we care about the most, and we never really obtain stable lives.

“Uranium” (2008) Marcin Wichary, shared under Creative Commons Attribution License

Solomon’s conclusion is that easy money “takes away the life of its possessors.” It is like a bar of uranium that looks so shiny and pretty. It has a lovely glow about it, and might be nice to touch. But the closer I get to it, the more it harms me.

That’s why Jesus came to break the cycle of sin and misery and lead us to God. Our greatest financial need is not for better money management, but for rescue. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). Our hearts constantly entice us to find our community and security in wealth, so Jesus gave up all his wealth to bring us lasting security and community with him.

Don’t buy it.  It’s not worth it.  Next week, I’ll give some practical tips on how you can reject easy money and pursue wisdom instead.

This post was first published in 2012.

Easy Money Can’t Deliver on its Promises

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Last week, we saw that easy money promises community and security. Don’t fall for it.

My son, do not walk in the way with them;
Hold back your foot from their paths,
For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
For in vain is a net spread
In the sight of any bird,
But these men lie in wait for their own blood;
They set an ambush for their own lives. (Prov 1:15-18)

abandoned pink piano in a derelict building
Photo by Mike Norris on Pexels.com

Security

Where is the promised security? “But these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.” All the promises of an easier life with fewer worries are simply lies. If we murder an old lady for her credit cards, we’re likely to be imprisoned or executed. The authorities are not very forgiving with tax evaders. Buying more stuff puts us in more debt, which costs us more in the long run.

Even winning the lottery can be more trouble than it’s worth. For example, consider Canadian Gerald Muswagon who won $10 million in the lottery, spent it all in seven years, and then hanged himself in 2005. Or William “Bud” Post, who in 1988 pawned a ring to buy some lottery tickets, won $16.2 million, racked up $500,000 in debt within three months, and had to declare bankruptcy. He ended up with numerous homes full of unused junk and declared, “I was much happier when I was broke” (Source: Maclean’s Magazine).

Please note that Proverbs is not condemning all wealth. The warning is against the unjust acquisition of wealth (what I’m calling “easy money”), which happens whenever we trample on others to gain it. Proverbs expects that wise people will gain wealth: “Honor the Lord…[and] your barns will be filled with plenty” (Pro 3:9-10). However, the methods for acquiring wealth make all the difference:

  • Diligence in gainful employment: “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty” (Prov 28:19).
  • Inheritance from wise forebears: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous” (Prov 13:22).
  • Patient endurance over time: “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (Prov 13:11).

In addition, the motivation for gaining wealth ought to be to serve others and not ourselves. God provides money and possessions to those who will share it with others: “Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor” (Prov 28:8).

From Prov 13:22 and Prov 28:8, quoted above, we see that you can’t keep your wealth; either you plan to give it away, or you have it taken from you. Is that your perspective on money? The critical point is that the wise person never finds his security in his wealth, but rather in the Lord. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination” (18:10-11).

Community 

Not only does easy money fail to keep its promise of security; it also can’t deliver on community.

One hint of this failure to provide community comes in Prov 1:15: “My son, do not walk in the way with them.” When I trample on others to gain wealth, they’ll eventually withdraw to avoid my folly.

People will catch on to my selfishness and run away: “for in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird” (Prov 1:17). If I come to you with a proposition for easy money, and you have the wisdom to see through the empty promises, you will fly like a sparrow. I can lay the net out to catch you, but—unless you are blind to reality—I’ll never gain your confidence.

That last fact gets at the heart of the matter. How often am I willfully blind to reality? I hear the promises of easy money, and I want to believe them! Gaining wealth, by hard work over a long time, in order to serve others, doesn’t sound like much fun. It sure doesn’t give me much hope that my stress will go away. So I spend more money, get nicer things, go further into debt, and leave it to my next of kin to pick up the pieces. This plan of action does not build community with those I love the most!

Now, not only does easy money fail to deliver on its promises; it also is highly self-destructive (Prov 1:19). More on that next week.

This post was first published in 2012.

Easy Money Makes Promises

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Why is it the case that pursuing a quick buck, as the cost of serving others, will always keep us from being wise and ought to be rejected?

If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
Let us ambush the innocent without reason;
Like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
And whole, like those who go down to the pit;
We shall find all precious goods,
We shall fill our houses with plunder;
Throw in your lot among us;
We will all have one purse’ (Prov 1:11-14).

These verses are morbidly comical. When was the last time you ever had a total stranger approach you on the street and ask, “Hey, whadd’ya say we go find a defenseless old lady, beat her to death, and take her credit cards? We can share them; I promise.” It just doesn’t happen like that, and Solomon knows it. It’s not like the ancients were so much dumber than we are that they’d fall for such a thing.

man wearing sunglasses and leather jacket at the party
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Rather, Solomon is taking what is usually implicit, and he’s making it explicit by telling a story. He’s bringing to light what is really going on every time we give in to our desire for more stuff. We’re not innocent victims (Prov 1:10 implies that we consent to it), and we’re not making life any easier for ourselves. Instead, we love ourselves and ignore reality. We believe the world’s promises.

The first promise is that easy money will give me community. “Come with us… Throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse.” Easy money promises me that I can be just like everyone else. I won’t be left behind, and I can’t be the butt of people’s jokes. I won’t be one of those weirdoes who is out of touch with his own generation. I will be normal, acceptable, informed, and relevant. I might even be envied and pursued by others who are normal, acceptable, informed, and relevant. I will have the community I’ve always longed for.

The second promise is that easy money will give me security. “We shall find all precious goods; we shall fill our houses with plunder.” Once I get all the precious stuff that normal people are supposed to have, my life will be easier. Communication will be easier. Managing my life will be easier. I’ll finally be able to relax on that ideal vacation. My clothes will be more comfortable, my work will be more productive, and my stress level will drop drastically. I can pay for the car, the house, college tuition, and weddings. I’ll be set up for retirement. Problems will disappear, and nothing will shake me. I will have security.

In the poem’s next stanza, we’ll see that easy money can’t keep such promises.

This post was first published in 2012.

Reject Easy Money

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Financial impropriety will ruin your influence. Therefore, Solomon commands us straight-out to reject the enticement to easy money.

“My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent” (Prov 1:10)

It’s not all that complicated. “If sinners entice you, do not consent.” Just say no. Turn away from evil. Don’t even consider it.

Sinners entice us, and they entice us constantly. They entice us from within, and they entice us from without. In other words, sometimes the enticement comes from “out there” (peer pressure, advertisements, and cultural expectations), and sometimes it comes from “in here” (our own sinful nature that says “I want”). We can’t avoid the enticement. We can’t prevent it. Sweet promises of monetary delights are all around us. All we can do is either accept or reject it, so Solomon cuts through the deception and excuses with a simple command: “Do not consent.”

close up photography two brown cards
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Sometimes the enticement comes in the form of another credit card application. Sometimes it happens when a neighbor gets a new vehicle, and you want one, too. At other times, you look at the bills piling up, or at the out-of-date sound system, and you wish for something more. Perhaps you slack off on your job search because the unemployment compensation is both sufficient and convenient. Maybe you spend too much time at work, to the neglect of your family or spiritual development. Or, you‘d like to give money to your church, but so many other things just keep coming up. Whatever shape the enticement takes, do you consent to it? Are you a willing participant?

You might wonder why I’m focusing on money and possessions, when it’s obvious that there are all kinds of enticements to sin in our fallen world. Why not focus on alcoholism, cheating, illicit sex, or violence? The reason is that Solomon clearly explains what sort of enticement he is referring to when he concludes the current section in Prov 1:19: “Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain.” He is concerned with the unjust acquisition of wealth. In other words, the pursuit of a quick buck, at the cost of serving others, will always keep us from being wise.

This post was first published in 2012.

Easy Money Will Keep You from Being Wise

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In season one of the TV show 24, federal agent Jack Bauer suspects his supervisor George Mason to be withholding vital information from a criminal investigation. So Bauer shoots him with a tranquilizer gun. While Mason lies unconscious on the couch, Bauer sets his cronies to dig up anything that will give Bauer bargaining leverage with Mason. They discover that just a few years earlier, a substantial sum of money disappeared from government coffers and landed in an offshore account owned by none other than Supervisor Mason. Bauer gets his bargaining chip, and when Mason regains consciousness Bauer is able to extort the required information by revealing his newfound knowledge of Mason’s dark secret.

Even if you haven’t seen 24, you’ve probably heard the same story line played out a zillion times in television dramas, political campaigns, and news headlines. Money issues are often at the center when someone’s character is defamed by scandal. It could be theft, tax evasion, questionable accounting practices, or simply poor management. But whatever the specific instance, it is clear that a failure to handle money with integrity has the potential to disqualify a person from receiving our trust.

This fact was no less true in ancient Israel than it is today. As we’ll see in the next few Proverbs posts, Solomon warns his people of the dangers of money issues. First, he commands the one seeking wisdom to reject the enticement to easy money (Prov 1:10). Then he explains why: easy money makes promises (Prov 1:11-14), but it can’t keep them (Prov 1:15-18) and is ultimately self-destructive (Prov 1:19).

man in black t shirt sitting on chair
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This post was first published in 2012.

Wisdom Ought to be Attractive

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When we hope in the right person, and listen to his instruction often, we should expect others to be attracted to do the same. Why wouldn’t they be? God is giving us garlands and pendants.

For they are a graceful garland to your head
And pendants for your neck (Prov 1:9).

My beautiful wife Erin doesn’t wear a lot of jewelry, but she does have that one pearl necklace for special occasions. I won’t go into too much detail about it, but hooo boy!

close up photo of woman wearing beaded white pearl necklace
Photo by Rene Terp on Pexels.com

Wisdom’s Powerful Influence

True wisdom is attractive. It is like jewelry that beautifies. It attracts others by holding up the beauty and blessings of wisdom’s path. If we are truly becoming wise, then others around us should see that wisdom and be drawn to it. You can’t keep it to yourself.

For example, I have been involved in churches where the elders are such wise and godly leaders that I make up stuff to talk about just so that I can be around them and learn from them! When I see a group of people loitering with one of those elders, I find a way to get myself in on that conversation because I know that “pearls of wisdom” will drip from his lips, sneak into my ears, and infiltrate my heart. I will become a better person simply by hanging out with those who are really wise.

Unfortunately there are often times when we (even as leaders, teachers, and parents) truly love Jesus but have stopped listening to him regularly and thus have little influence in the lives of others. Maybe we go into lecture mode and fail to draw others out (Jas 1:19-21). Perhaps we think people ought to pay attention to us because of our leadership position, when the Bible says real influence flows from our wise and godly character (1 Cor 10:32-11:1; Phm 8-10). Maybe we’ve plateaued in our walk with Christ, and we are no longer growing in wisdom. Whatever the issue is, we haven’t made the effort to become biblically wise, and then we wonder why no one listens to our opinions or why our children rebel.

Wisdom’s Attractive Influence

The greatest struggles in my marriage usually center on money issues. In our best moments, when we acquire some unexpected funds, my gut instinct is to give them away, and Erin’s gut instinct is to save them for the future (especially for our children). Both instincts are biblically informed and reasonably selfless. Yet every time the situation arises, we must make a decision on what to do. How should we go about it?

One way I could do it is to make a power play. “Well Darling, I’m the head of this household. So here is what I think we should do….” I’ve tried this method before, but it rarely results in the swoons and contented sighs I expect. Nor has she said, “I’m so glad to have such a wise husband to make these difficult decisions for me.” But other tactics have been more helpful.

  1. I try to listen to her: “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame” (Pr 18:13).
  2. I attempt to draw out her concerns: “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out” (Pr 20:5).
  3. I consider first how I need to change before we can make a good decision on this issue: “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Pr 26:12).
  4. I seek to approach any faulty thinking I see in her in a way that lowers her defenses rather than raising them. This tactic requires me to know what serves her: “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle” (Pr 18:19). For Erin, this means that I introduce any criticism with “I love you, and it’s just a small thing, but…”
  5. In the rare cases when I have actually followed through on these wise principles, she usually wants to follow my lead! “They are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck” (Pr 1:9).

If you are a parent or leader of any sort, would you prefer for your children, students, or congregation members to follow your influence only when they have no other option, and then pull away from you once they do? Or would you prefer for them to be so attracted to the godly wisdom they find in you that they’re always coming back for more?

Let’s commit to trusting in Christ, seeking him daily, and transforming our world for his glory.

This post was first published in 2012.

Listen to Instruction

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Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
And forsake not your mother’s teaching (Prov 1:8, ESV).

Having set our hope in the right person, we are now called to do the right thing in response. In verse 8, we have the first instance of one of the most repeated commands in Proverbs 1-9: the command to hear or listen. Solomon made every effort to give us a written record of his instruction, and he calls us to hear it over and over again. Will we do it? Will we listen? Will the instruction sink down deep and become a part of us? Will it make any difference in how we live our lives?

This question is important enough for him to repeat the command incessantly. Hear my instruction (Pr 1:8a). Don’t forsake your mother’s teaching (Pr 1:8b). Make your ear attentive to wisdom (Pr 2:2a). Incline your heart to understanding (Pr 2:2b). Be attentive, that you may gain insight (Pr 4:1). Hear and accept my words (Pr 4:10). Be attentive to my wisdom (Pr 5:1). And so on.

deer behind grass
Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com

Notice, too, that the word “instruction” in 1:8 connects back to Proverbs 1:2, where the first purpose of Solomon’s proverbs was to help us know wisdom and instruction. The “instruction” that he refers to is not his own personal advice, but rather the instruction of God, revealed through his Word, of which Solomon is now a representative. Solomon is not asking his audience to hear and obey every personal whim of his simply because he’s the older, more experienced one among them. He is pointing them to a greater set of instructions: those that came right from the Lord and can be applied to every detail of our lives. This conclusion flows from Prov 1:7 where fools despise the Lord’s instruction, but those who are wise fear the Lord (and thus hear his instruction).

How does this apply to us? If God has put us in positions of spiritual authority over others (as parents, elders, pastors, teachers, etc.), then we should be simultaneously confident and humble in our leadership. We can be utterly confident as representatives of the God of the universe (Josh 1:5, 2 Cor 5:20). Yet we’re also humble, knowing that our instruction does not always match God’s teaching perfectly; there’s room for us to grow, even as leaders. In other words, we must never ask for unqualified obedience on the merit of nothing more than the leadership position God gave to us. For example, “You better obey me, because I’m your father!” We must always aim to be representatives of a greater authority (the Lord himself). And, only in so far as our advice is in line with God’s revealed wisdom, ought we to expect those under us to hear and obey.

A good friend of mine modeled well such confident and humble leadership when he asked his six-year old son for suggestions on how he could be a better father. The boy’s first response was, “You’re a great Dad; I don’t think you could be better.” But later in the day, after some difficult interactions between the father and another sibling, the boy came back and said, “Dad, one way you could be a better Dad is to not get angry when we make mistakes or disobey.” My point here is not that parents should do whatever their children want them to do, but that, in a context of confident and humble authority delegated by God, a leader need not be insecure about wise feedback, even from those he leads.

Jesus himself told us that Solomon’s wise advice was not the ultimate instruction for us to heed. Solomon was a picture of the Savior to come, the man who was God and who spoke only God’s own words. In answer to those who wanted Jesus to prove himself to them, he said, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Matt 12:42). Jesus, as God’s ultimate representative (Heb 1:1-4),repeatedly reminded people, “Truly, truly, I say to you….” As God in flesh, Jesus had no need to speak tentatively. In fact, one title for Jesus is the Word (John 1:1; Rev 19:13). Our objective in studying Proverbs is not just to listen to Solomon but, far more importantly, to make sure we are listening to Jesus.

Our default is to listen to anything but the Lord Jesus. Our own hearts whisper sweet promises of joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction in anything other than the righteousness of Jesus. The world gives apparent credibility to these promises, offering us more stuff, more pleasure, and whatever else will promise happiness. The devil prowls about seeking to destroy us, exploiting opportunities to showcase these lies and to hide from us the reality of their vicious consequences.

Thus Solomon comes back to it again and again: “Hear…listen…pay attention.” The second step on the path of wisdom is really the same as the first. We just have to keep taking it over and over again.

This post was first published in 2012.

The Fear of the Lord

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The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction (Prov 1:7).

This verse describes the first step on the path of wisdom. We must begin by fearing the Lord. So far, so good.

person wearing white and black mid rise sneakers at borobudur indonesia
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Defining the Fear of the Lord from the Text

But what does it mean to fear the Lord? Does it mean to reverence the Lord? Or does it mean to obey him? Or does it mean to be afraid of him? How should we understand the term “fear” in this verse?

The poetry here gives us a lot of help. Do you remember our brief discussion of parallelism (more here)? In this verse, we have an example of two lines that say opposite things. So, in order to help us interpret the first line, let’s look at the second line: “fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The beginning of knowledge in the first line appears to be parallel to wisdom and instruction in the second line. That much quickly makes sense.

That leaves us with fools despise contrasted with the fear of the LORD, so fearing the Lord must mean that I don’t despise wisdom or instruction!  How does that work?

Let’s consider this further. Why would a fool despise wisdom and instruction? Because he thinks he doesn’t need it. Why doesn’t he need it? Because he thinks he’s already smart enough. He doesn’t need anyone (especially the Lord) telling him what to do. He’s doing just fine on his own. As the fellow once sang, “I did it my way!”

The wise person, on the other hand, knows he isn’t wise enough yet. There’s always more room for growth, so he loves wisdom and instruction. He wants feedback. He welcomes constructive criticism. He delights in correction. Therefore he has the humility and faith to look for a true source of wisdom (which will not be himself). Ultimately, he knows that the only real source of this much-needed wisdom is God, who stores up wisdom and doles it out to the upright who walk in integrity (see Prov 2:6-7). Therefore, fearing the Lord means resting in God and trusting that he alone is wise.

The Fear of the Lord and the Gospel

We have here an example of the Good News being preached long before Jesus actually came on the scene. Solomon communicates that the most important thing to know about becoming wise, indeed the first step on the path of wisdom, is to acknowledge that you are not wise. Only the most courageous people can do such a thing. They must have nothing to prove, nothing to defend, and nothing to justify. They don’t make excuses or blame others for their own faults. They’re not touchy when conflicts arise or when relationships become awkward. These people find their security not in their own righteousness, but in the righteousness of another who died so they could have life.

Some wiseacre once quipped that Christianity is just a crutch for weak people. Others accurately responded that Christianity is actually more like a stretcher for dead people. Christians know they need all the help they can get. We’re dead meat if Jesus doesn’t rescue us. This teaching is not unique to Solomon, but is inscribed on every page of the New Testament as well. For one example, see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31:

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

If we are believers in Jesus and destined for eternal life and glory, it is not because we had something to offer God. Rather, God called and chose us because he couldn’t find any bigger fools than us! He gets more glory for having drafted us into his service, and we get wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This is Good News.

When we hope in Jesus’ goodness, and not our own, we have taken the first step on the path of wisdom. Without this step, it is impossible to be wise. Therefore, if wisdom is a continual striving to know and do what the Bible says, the first step is to recognize that we aren’t doing it! In fact, we simply can’t do it. We need Jesus to do it for us.

This post was first published in 2012.