Fear of God

I've been reading today that "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom".

Psalm 111:10 "Reverance {fear} for the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. The rewards of wisdom come to all who obey him. Praise his name forever!"
Proverbs 1:7 "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline."
Proverbs 9:10 "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding."

So, what is fear of the Lord?? Does that mean we're to be afraid of Him, of God?? Yes and no. Fear is a good thing, you know. If we were not afraid of getting hit by a car, we would walk across the street without looking both ways first. Here's a quote from a book I've been studying for a while "Created to Be His Help Meet" ( www.NoGreaterJoy.org ) - 'if women never slump onto a couch and weeps for their loss and loneliness, if children never curse their parents, if no one ever experiences shame and regret, then fear is foolish and anyone who would promote it would be an enemy of humanity. But if our choices can bring us to miserable ends, then fear is the healthiest detterent we can have.' Fear is the beginning of wisdom. 'Life without fear is a fool's paradise. A Christian life without fear is a religious life without a living God. What physical pain is to the preservation of the human body, fear is to the preservation of the soul.' This made a lot of sense to me. So, the true way to become wise is to fear God.

The following are some notes from the above verses that I've taken out of my Bible, which is the New Living Translation: "Becoming wise is not by life experience and academic knowledge alone. If we don't acknowledge God as the source of wisdom, then our foundation for making wise decisions is shaky, and we are prone to mistakes and foolish choices. Wisdom is a basic attitude that affects every aspect of life. Fear of God is to honor and respect God, to live in awe of his power and to obey His Word. Faith in God should be the controlling principle for our understanding the world, our attitudes and our actions. We need to trust God - He will make us truly wise. Wisdom also begins with knowing God - He gives us insight to living because He created life. To know God - to know the facts about Him - we all need a personal relationship with Him. To be truly wise, we need to get to know God better and better." How do we get to know Him better and better? Read His Word, The Bible, daily and pray.

This really impacted me today and I wanted to share it with you. :-)
God bless you!