The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
- Pastor Emily
- Oct 15
- 2 min read
And another thing!
Psalm 111:10
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who practice this have a good understanding. God’s praise endures forever.
It’s easy to overlook the psalms. On Sunday, they’re tucked in the middle of the readings. They’re poetry, but not like we usually get it. And when they’re out of historical context, they can be hard to follow.
The psalms, when we spend time in them, are full of gems. The rhythms and reassurances cushion our souls. They teach us to pray and to talk about God with one another.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” stuck out to me this week. In the past week, we’ve discussed the fear of the Lord in confirmation class and in our Wednesday Bible Study. It’s a hard phrase to define. In one sense, it’s very literal. God has all the power and all the authority. We should come before God with fear and trembling. In another sense, our relationship with God is a comfort and a joy. To know that God is for us, that God made us, loves us, and entrusts us with care for this world is a holy and delightful thing.
The North Carolina Synod is holding their annual Rostered Leaders’ Convocation this week, and I’ve been enjoying updates from my friends as they get together to fellowship and learn. One of their speakers is the Rev. Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker. She defines the fear of the Lord this way: “Fear of the Lord is the deeply sane recognition that we are not God.”
Fear of the Lord is the deeply sane recognition that we are not God. What a beautiful way to phrase it. We are not the Lord of the Universe. We are not the Judge of all creation. We are not the One who feeds the sparrows. We are ourselves, talented, creative, beloved, limited, and flawed. It is not grandiose to say that we are created in God’s image. It’s not too humble to say that we are made out of the dirt of the earth. God is so much more. To recognize who we are and who God is is the beginning of wisdom. It is the start to understanding how the world truly works.
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