The Beginning of Knowledge: Proverbs 1:1-9 - Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

I knew it was going to happen eventually, but I wasn’t expecting it so soon…

I purchased some items at a local discount store. I was a little surprised when the cashier told me my total, so on my way out the door, I checked my receipt, just to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. She didn’t. It turns out that she awarded me the senior citizens’ discount.

I’m not sure what the minimum age is to qualify for the discount, but even with the most generous offerings, I have at least ten years to go, if not fifteen or twenty!

But I had another random thought which reminded me that I’m the product of a bygone era:

When I was in elementary school, if you were sent to the principal’s office, you could be subject to discipline in the form of paddling.

It never happened to me, but it happened to plenty of others I knew, and the principal, Mr. Sanford, was the kind of man who demanded respect.

I remember one afternoon when we were waiting in the cafeteria for our buses to arrive, and we were becoming unruly. The instant Mr. Sanford walked into the room and blinked the lights, everyone fell silent. 

Image by Sabrina Eickhoff from Pixabay

 Please understand, Mr. Sanford wasn’t a mean man. Every day, during lunch period, he donned a dark blue apron with his name embroidered on it, along with a white chef’s hat, and he helped serve lunch. My sister and I missed him when he retired, and not because we liked the idea of corporeal punishment, but because his replacement didn’t work in the kitchen and didn’t make the effort to know her students by name. I should also add that the paddle retired with him and was replaced by after-school detention.

To this day, whenever I hear the words “fear the Lord,” I think of Mr. Sanford. You respect the authority, but you trust because you know he cares about you.

Today’s reading contains what is the core theme of the Book of Proverbs: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

This proverb takes us back to the Garden of Eden and the forbidden fruit growing on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which was said to be pleasing to the eye and desirable for “making one wise.” Adam and Eve’s disobedience demonstrated that they had no fear of the Lord, only contempt for God’s authority. Ironically, they did end up “fearing the Lord” when the consequences of their disobedience were exposed, along with their nakedness. They quickly learned that when it comes to God, you can run but you cannot hide. God had to punish them, because if they were left to their own devices, God’s entire creative project would come to ruin.

The fear of the Lord that is the beginning of knowledge hinges on this fundamental truth: God is God, and you are not. You didn’t make yourself. You didn’t make the world. God did! You owe your existence to God’s authority. Therefore, how can you gain wisdom or knowledge without God?

Ask any teacher and they’ll tell you: the best students are those who are eager to learn; whereas the most frustrating students are those who don’t want to learn or who think they know everything. To fear the Lord is to recognize that you know nothing and that you are nothing apart from God. As your maker, God knows what’s best for you and for the rest of the world. God’s truth and righteousness are life-giving, whereas falsehood and greed are life-destroying. This is why God exercises authority to discipline you and punish you, lest you perish in sin.

God isn’t God to oppress you or terrorize you. God is God for your good and for the good of all things. To fear God is to trust God. To trust God is to open your whole self to be taught by God, to be led by God, and to be transformed by God. It is good that God is God, and you are not.

Unfortunately, there is in our society a deep distrust of authority. We can all name authority figures who’ve let us down and violated our trust. This is why educators, politicians, law enforcement officers, and other authority figures are depicted as lazy, corrupt, incompetent, greedy, and inhumane on TV shows and film. Meanwhile, we make heroes out of those who defy such authority figures and get away with it.

Many struggle to trust God because they’ve been harmed by authority figures in the Church.

Thankfully, there are still those who exercise their authority as a sacred trust, including many within our church, who deserve respect because of their knowledge, because of their wisdom, because of their dedication to service.

It is good to fear the Lord, and not just for the sake of gaining knowledge and wisdom. It is good to fear the Lord because God knows you by name. To think that the God who created the universe, whose existence surpasses time; whose power surpasses comprehension, loves you and wants to be in relationship with you. You don’t need to take matters into your own hands when you’re in God’s hands. Fear the Lord. Submit to God’s authority. Trust God. God will teach you. God will lead you. God will love you. God will forgive you. God will bring life to birth in you beyond anything you could ever have desired.

Proverbs 1:1-9 (NRSVue)

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

² For learning about wisdom and instruction,
    for understanding words of insight,
³ for gaining instruction in wise dealing,
    righteousness, justice, and equity;
⁴ to teach shrewdness to the simple,
    knowledge and prudence to the young—
⁵ let the wise, too, hear and gain in learning
    and the discerning acquire skill,
⁶ to understand a proverb and a figure,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
    fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸ Hear, my child, your father’s instruction,
    and do not reject your mother’s teaching,
⁹ for they are a fair garland for your head
    and pendants for your neck.