1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:2 for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; 3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; 4 for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— 5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— 6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.ReflectionsWritten by Stephen SheadToday we are starting a few weeks of short excerpts from the book of Proverbs. Proverbs is a training course for “gaining wisdom and instruction” (v2). Those who are simple and young will learn so much from this training course (v4) – but none of us are so wise that we’ve got it all covered (v5)!But what is wisdom? I found verse 3 very helpful: this crash-course in wisdom is about “prudent behaviour” and “doing what is right and just and fair”. This isn’t just about knowledge or being smart; it’s about actions and choices. I saw an episode from a kids’ Bible program which described the difference between being smart and being wise with a story about an alligator keeper at the zoo. This alligator keeper amazes visitors with how much he knows about alligators – he’s very smart. But then he sticks his hand through the bars and tries to pat one of the alligators (crunch!) – he’s not very wise.Proverbs is about the importance of learning to make good choices and decisions in life. It’s so good to know that the kind of wisdom that really matters has nothing to do with getting good marks or getting degrees. It’s about learning to tackle practical, everyday situations well.The final verse tells us the most basic ingredient for learning to live wisely: “the fear of the Lord” (v7). That doesn’t mean being terrified of God. It means living in humble, worshipful submission to God – because he is the Lord, and we are his creatures.All of this makes sense when we think about the gospel as well. True wisdom is believing in the crucified Saviour – a message which is foolishness to the world. It doesn’t take intelligence to believe in Christ. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:18 & 27). And the most basic ingredient for this true wisdom is to gladly submit to Jesus as Lord. That’s learning “the fear of the Lord.”I’m really looking forward to letting God’s Word show me how my day to day decisions can glorify him!About the AuthorStephen is our senior minister, and has recently discovered that ripping up an old deck is great therapy.