April 15

Apr 15 - Today from Proverbs 15 we look at verse 33
"The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor."

"The fear of the Lord." A difficult concept for the average person to grasp and hold on to. I remember when my sons were still very young and roved with some of the other boys in the neighborhood. There was a family living on the block at that time of which the husband drove a church van. It was parked in front of his house throughout the week. On the back of the van, painted in contrasting block letters were these words, "CH_ _CH", and beneath in the same lettering was "U R MISSING". He appeared to be quite proud of his faith and displayed it in other ways as well.
One day as the 'gang' of boys who lived on our street were walking past this man’s house, he came out and stopped them. Apparently one of the boys pulled some kind of prank on him and he didn't know which one, so he confronted the entire group. He was very angry. He yelled at them, threatened them and even cursed at them. They were frightened out of their wits. My sons came home and were visibly shaken. I asked what had happened, and my oldest son (probably around ten or twelve at the time), told me. My youngest son confirmed his story. I went out the door and walked down to this neighbor's house, praying under my breath.
I confronted the man with the boys' story, half expecting a toned-down version of the scene. I was surprised when the man admitted that it had happened exactly as I had been told. "These are just young boys, and it is very likely that only one or two were involved in the prank" I said. "What exactly are you thinking here?"
"I just wanted to put the fear of God in these kids so they understand the need to respect others' property!" He replied.
I attempted to reason with him a little further on the subject, but he was quite adamant in defending his action. I departed by sharing this final statement with him, "In the future, if you ever suspect my sons of doing anything wrong, please feel free to come and speak with me. I promise you that I will do all I can to get to the bottom of things. But NEVER curse or threaten my sons again! If you threaten them, I will take it as a personal threat to me."
From that one incident 'the fear of the Lord' became a very negative thought in the lives of the boys in that group. It is now some twenty years later and either of my sons can still tell you the details and impressions of that encounter. What that man displayed was neither 'the fear of the Lord', nor did he impart to those boys any wisdom. It is a somewhat extreme example of a picture too many of us carry around concerning 'the fear of the Lord'.
The better definition, translated from the Hebrew, would be reverence for, or in awe of. To fear God means to hold Him in the highest place, to revere Him. It enfolds highest respect and devotion. It means to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
The fear of the Lord is not quaking before someone who could strike you down at any given moment and is just waiting for you to step out of line. That's what those scared little boys saw when confronted by this large angry man. God is not the One who chews us out and curses us. He is the loving Father who confronts those who threaten and curse His children and says, "When you threaten my children, you threaten me." That's what fathers do.
When one properly understands the fear of the Lord and responds appropriately, one will hunger for the Father’s training and equipping in order to find fulfillment in life. That's what wisdom does.