Does fear make you wise?

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

Job 28:28 And he said to man, ''The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.' "

The bible keeps telling us that fearing God is the beginning of wisdom. But what does it really mean to fear God? I guess it would depend on the meaning of the word 'fear' in these verses. To be precice according to a dictionary it would mean "to have reverential awe of". So, how does this kind of 'Fear' actually make a person wise and knowlegeable?

A person who truly fears God would be a person who would naturally consider not doing anything that would displease God. Take the example of a small boy, who has been taught by his parents to always look both ways before crossing and not talk to strangers. This boy as he grows will always keep these instructions in mind not because he is afraid of something bad happening to him, because children don’t really understand most of the rules we give them, but he will listen because his parents told him to and he is more afraid of the consequence of disobeying his parents more than the fact that a car may hit him or a stranger may kidnap him. Most of us as kids didn't understand the need for the rules are parents gave us and yet followed them eventually helping us to grow into the people we are today.

In the same way we may conclude that following the Lord’s commands would without a doubt lead us to making wiser and smarter decisions. The first thing the fear of the Lord does is give you a moral conscience. So you find yourself in everyday situations choosing right over wrong, good over bad. Not breaking traffic rules, not lying or cheating, not trying the bribe government officials, not trying to purposefully hurt someone; Easier said than done isn’t it. We look at the world around us and see that it’s not the good but the wicked that prosper. The powerful corrupt politicians, the rich land grabbing business tycoon, the criminals who get away with murder and rape, or even the everyday common people like the person who pushed you to get into the bus first, the greedy auto driver, the colleague who lied to get a promotion, all these people seem to be getting ahead in life while goody two shoes you is left feeling like a loser.

So is does fearing God really make you wise? The book of proverbs is filled with verses about the righteous and the wicked. It always predicts ultimate doom for those who do not fear God and blessing to those who fear him. With closer examination of the lives of those who do evil we may find that the book of Proverbs is not wrong after all. Further studies on Proverbs will show us that.

Now, we need to remember that Fear of the Lord is not just a moral compass to help you decided and choose between Good and Bad or Right and Wrong. It is just the beginning. It sets us on the path to wisdom and knowledge unlike anything the world can give us.