What's Wisdom? Foundations week 1

Father,
You say that if we ask for wisdom, you will give it to us freely. We ask that you would help us to start to comprehend what wisdom is. Be with us as we study your word to see what you have to say about it. Holy Spirit, you are the Spirit of Wisdom, come inhabit this space as we consider how we may become wise. Jesus, you are the Word of God, you are the very words on the page, but you are alive, help us to be conscious of you as we look at this topic.
Amen.

Well, I bit off a whole lot when I promised that I would start walking with you through the nature of Biblical Wisdom. I took a whole semester class on it when I was in college, many moons ago, and I was a cocky little punk back then. So, what is Biblical Wisdom? Where does it start? How can we grow in wisdom? According to Proverbs 1:7, wisdom begins with the (humble) fear of the Lord. I’ve talked about humility a bit in the past, and even mentioned the fear of the Lord, but in case you don’t remember, here is a refresher. This whole concept is profoundly counter-cultural, it flips most of the world’s way of life on its head, as it is based on the Kingdom of Heaven, not the kingdom of this world.
So, what is humility? Humility is an accurate view of who you are in relation to God, then others. Humility places others and God at the center of your life, rather than you. It does not give you low self-esteem or reduce you in any way. Rather it changes your focus.
What is the Fear of the Lord? It means that you honor and obey Him, you respect Him. What does that look like? Giving of yourself without concern for repayment, following His ways, doing what is right and never seeking to injure yourself or another. The Fear of the Lord makes His opinion of you and your thoughts and actions more important than what others think or say. The Fear of the Lord will lead you to following Torah (not Mishnah or Talmud, mind you, but Torah). You heart is turned toward Him, not toward other things or people, that is the Fear of the Lord.
So, what happens when we put humility together with the Fear of the Lord? Fireworks. That is where wisdom, Biblical wisdom, takes root. That is the starting place, because as a humble person, you are flexible and willing to learn, and willing to honor one who knows and understands more than you do. You aren’t a cocky piece of work that thinks you’re the cat’s meow and can’t learn anything from anyone. This is entirely against the grain of Western society and culture, where we are told, particularly as men that we have to be “alpha”, or macho, self-absorbed, and the kind of person who will squash anyone or anything that gets in his way. That, coupled with making much of God, and choosing His ways over those that the world would have us walk out, with all of the destructiveness baked into those other ways. We will want to connect with others who are walking in the same way that we desire to, so that we can learn how to do life better.
So, for today, biblical wisdom begins with the humble fear of the Lord. It does not end there, but that is its genesis in our lives. Next week, we will get into some of the different kinds of wisdom that are discussed in the Bible, and yes, there are at least a handful. We will take a look at more scripture where those different kinds of wisdom show up, then seek to gain more through prayer.