Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”    

I do not know of any Christian leader or man who would not like to have in his heart and mind both wisdom and insight.  They have no equal when it comes to leadership of people, making the right decisions, and pleasing God.  These two personal traits are linked and supportive of each other.  What do we mean by wisdom?  For the Christian man and from God’s Word and Holy Spirit, wisdom simply means “to see life and take action from God’s perspective or point of view.”  Insight means “to have a penetrating mental and heart vision of discernment of seeing into the inner character and underlying truth.”  We can have these and live by them through daily obedience to God’s Word. 

Why is meant by fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom?  It is not fear as we know in the English language.  Here in Proverbs, fear is an awe and reverence of God the Father, joined with love to him, trust in him and to obey, worship and serve him.  It is not a slave-like fear but a loving and healthy fear of not wanting to disappoint or offending the Father.  I had a healthy fear of my earthly father and wanted to learn from him, to honor him, to not disappoint him and to make him proud of me.  This is how God will honor us and give us wisdom.  Knowledge of the Holy One gives us insight to partner with wisdom in leadership and decision making.  It comes from a personal knowledge, understanding and relationship of God in Christ.  We gain insight by getting to know God through Christ in a more mature and obedient Christian walk.  I am convinced that we become better leaders of wisdom and insight by spending time reading, studying and meditating on the Proverbs and Psalms.  In fact, Proverbs is often referred to as the book of wisdom.  There are 31 chapters of Proverbs and I read one for each day of the month.  How about you?