The last verse of Psalm 111 should come first as “the fear of
the Lord” or better, the reverence of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That
is not to say it is unwise to be afraid of the Creator of the Universe only
that the small g gods have the terror market cornered and truth is any two bit
god can make a mortal tremble. But to reverence the Lord with a holy fear is to
have a proper perspective on the order of things. God is God and you are not.
So the wisdom that comes with reverence, as opposed to terror, is that God does
not delight in our being fearful but rather desires us to be in right
relationship which in a word is to be faithful. To be afraid of someone, be it
God or anyone else for that matter, is not helpful or healthy. But when we
stand in awe of the One who is “full of majesty” because the “power of his
works” are “faithful, just and trustworthy” we live wisely. Jesus’ baby brother
James will say it this way: “Show by your good life that your works are done
with gentleness born of wisdom.” And that sort of wisdom “is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a
trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” (James 3:13, 17) Fear of the Lord indeed. I’m
shaking in my shoes with praise!
No comments:
Post a Comment