Walking with Wisdom 2: The Fear of the Lord

(Proverbs 1:7; 2:1-22) 

There’s nothing I appreciate more than being perceived as the smartest person in the room. I relish the moments when others see me as an expert in a particular field, or when my experience lends authority to my words. As I scroll through social media, I notice that many people share this desire—the feeling of possessing more knowledge or a more informed opinion than the crowd. Yet, in many situations where we, myself included, believe we’re the smartest person in the room, it doesn’t take long for it to become painfully clear that... we are not. (I’m often amazed at how many "constitutional scholars" emerge on Facebook after a controversial Supreme Court decision.) 

Proverbs has a simple but profound message for those of us who strive to be the smartest: You’re not. In fact, the wisdom we’ll explore this morning challenges us to not only recognize that we are not the smartest, but that the first step toward true wisdom is the humility to admit it.