Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Beginning of Wisdom

Today I have to disagree with the quote of the day.

Quote of the Day

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
Bertrand Russell

Consider what the Bible has to say about this:

Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Proverbs 1:7 ¶ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Proverbs 15:33 ¶ The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

So, to conquer fear is not the beginning of wisdom, rather fear is the beginning of wisdom, however it has to be fear of the Lord.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17 And the way of peace have they not known:
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

1 comment:

Jeannette said...

Interesting quote. I have thought about this a lot. I don't like that people sometimes choose to follow God because they fear hell. It is such a happier thing to follow God out of love. To fear God (not hell) is obviously a good thing. I believe fear can be a gift. It can be a discerning reaction that alerts us to unhealthy situations and people. It's good to know when to fight and when to flee.