With my Buffalo Bills mug (sorry to every other team fan!) holding a hot cup of coffee, I’ve been thinking this morning about a very vivid comparison. Recently I was chatting with the children’s director of a particular local church. She was telling me what the upper elementary students were studying, and I was absolutely thrilled. Then a couple of nights ago I was watching a news program where college students from very prestigious colleges were being interviewed on basic life questions. I was dismayed at the foolish answers that lacked even the basic common sense one would expect.

What makes the difference between these elementary students and these college students? I think the answer is found in our verse for today.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Now, let’s take a little quiz. Do you know where that verse is found? Which of these references do you think is the correct one?
A. Deuteronomy 31:6
B. Proverbs 1:7
C. Isaiah 6:8

I’ll tell you in just a second. But first, fearing the LORD is the sense of awe at the magnitude of His greatness and splendor, the attitude of bowing the knee to His Lordship, some good old fashioned terror at His absolute holiness and that is where life lessons are genuinely learned. The fear of the Lord is truly the beginning of wisdom. It makes all the difference in the world.

The answer: B. It is Proverbs 1:7.