“Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.” —PROVERBS 3:13-14

Life is primarily about developing meaningful relationships and exercising purposeful responsibilities. The book of Proverbs provides an excellent “how to” summation, which begins with finding wisdom that comes from God.

To acquire wisdom that comes from God, we first need a right disposition. ‘Disposition’ is defined as an attitude, stance, inclination or perspective. In the book of Proverbs, it’s having a right disposition that centers on “the fear of the Lord.” Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” It isn’t that the fear of God is a good ingredient in wisdom, but the beginning of wisdom.

Fear can be both a good and bad experience. If you’re in a situation where you’re afraid to say or do anything, it’s a paralyzing fear and a negative experience. The fear of God is not only a positive experience, but a life-altering one. It is a disposition that involves complete abandonment to the will of God, regardless of consequences. Abraham, we’re told in the book of Hebrews, reasoned that if necessary God would raise his boy from the dead, but what Abraham had first concluded was that to negotiate with God when He has declared His will is out of the question. When God speaks to us our fear of God means our total abandonment to His will is non-negotiable.

Our disposition towards God needs to be one where there are no strings attached. “I will serve God if He keeps me healthy, looks after my family and provides the material comforts we need.” That’s not the fear of God, but actually an exploitation of God. We agree to serve Him simply because it’s in our best interest to do so. God is, of course, concerned for our well being, but if we are going to be wise, and the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, one of the things we have to do is take the strings attached to our relationship with God and cut every one of them.

As long as there are conditions attached to our submission to God, we’ll never know the wisdom of God. The beginning of wisdom, the essential core of wisdom, comes from this fear of God that says I am surrendering every part of my life to Him without constraints. The fear of the Lord is a right disposition of heart and mind that imparts to us His wisdom in which to live our lives. When we fear God, we need not fear anything else, because our peace and security lie in Him, and that enables us to live in any context.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, forgive me if I’ve put any restraints on our relationship. Help me to totally abandon to You so that I may live with wisdom derived from You. Thank You, Lord.

TO REFLECT UPON: Am I living with a disposition of heart that surrenders everything to God?