The beginning of wisdom

"Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles; 

they will run and not grow weary, 

they will walk and not be faint." 

Isaiah 40:31

There are two kinds of "wisdom."  There's that understanding that comes from a good sound education combined with some hard-earned life experience.  That's worldly wisdom.  It teaches you how to "succeed" in the world, make money, get a date, look good for the job, get the job, keep the job and exceed in the job, then how to invest your  money to make more money and all the other do's and don'ts of self-centered gratification.

Then, there's the real wisdom, the wisdom of God, the kind of deep awareness, enlightenment, understanding, truth, that the world seems to not get, despite all this time and all the effort religious people and institutions have gone to make the world a Godly kingdom.  To talk about the wisdom of God without the cornerstone of that wisdom is to look for a needle in the haystack.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."  (Proverbs 9 New International Version)

As I watch the news of wars for liberation in the Middle East, it is so clear that these uprisings, these bloody battles for freedom, for liberation, for self-determination and democratic government, stem from a single cause.  The people would rather die than be enslaved by a tyrannical, oppressive dictator.  They want freedom and their courage to fight for that freedom stems from their freedom from fear.  The people no longer, as a group, fear their dictator.  They have come to realize that living in fear is worse than death.  They are throwing off the shackles of fear.  

I admire them tremendously for their courage, for their sacrifice, for their cry for freedom, yet I also am anxious that unless they are truly liberated from within their own hearts and minds, free from all else that enslaves the human heart, they will never really be free.  These rugged and daring freedom fighters are pioneers, beginning somewhere because they have to begin somewhere.  Time will test them, but their first step is to walk away from their fear of their dictators and embrace their destiny as a free people, filled with the awesome responsibility that freedom calls for.

It seems people naturally adhere to that which they fear. This is the strange hold abusive power has on those who are controlled by oppressive fear. Authentic power like God's power doesn't control.  Rather than cage you, limit you, diminish you, lead you to distrust your own strength, wisdom and power, it sets you free to find yourself and soar "as on eagle's wings," Isaiah says. 

That kind of creative, loving power induces a profound respect, a different kind of fear than that impelled on one through control.  It instills the ultimate in respect that comes from the awakened awareness that one is cherished, loved, held with compassion and nurtured toward a higher potential.  Out of that awareness comes awe, respect, love - the highest form of "fear," which is the awesome awareness of God's power.  

To fear a dictator is surrendering your blood, sweat and tears to someone who only wants to use you for his own profit as the people of the Middle East are coming to see. While the refusal to be controlled by someone like Moammar Gadhafi comes at a terrible price, his power to destroy stops at the grave.  God's power to create continues beyond the grave. 

To fear God, who loves us all with a limitless love, compassion and mercy, and only wants us to stand up in our creative power and walk tall with the dignity He has endowed us with, is the beginning of wisdom.  In the first commandment, God asks us not to have any other gods, before Him.  He asks us to not worship anyone or thing other than Him.  He love is ultimate power.  He holds tremendous blessings and gifts for us, to give to us when we wisely turn to Him for our protection and love.

While the world has grappled with a bit of a misunderstanding around God's law, which we interpreted with a fire and brimstone kind of judgment, we have also foolishly thrown out God's law.  We scoff at His timeless laws, only to learn finally at the end of our collective rope, that just maybe God was right.  Maybe some of those old laws were there to protect us.  Maybe we will discover that when we have the courage to exchange our fear of abusive power for the respectful fear of a great and loving, all merciful, gracious God.  Maybe then we will experience the sweetness of God's peace and a grace and dignity in our lives which we may have lost sight of.  

As I think about "the fear of God," the image of Isaiah (Isaiah 6)  trembling in the temple, filled with the Lord's robe, as God's presence fills it, wrapping him in His presence, vibrantly stirs my imagination. That, to me, is what the fear of the Lord looks like. It is a natural human instinctual response to awesome power. But God's power doesn't take from us, as an oppressive or abusive leader, rather God's power gives to us.  If only we would trust God, believe in His benevolence rather than project on our understanding of God the cruelty of the dark and false powers.

When the angel touches Isaiah's lips with a coal, wisdom fills his mind and he is sent out to warn the people to turn their hearts and minds back to God.  In his fear, awe, respect, Isaiah is filled with wisdom.  Also, Ezekiel's fearsome visions, similar in image and intensity, also are given to him both as warning and as wisdom. These visions stir a respect so profound that fear seems to outshine awe in intensity. While there may be considerable debate among Biblical scholars about these visions, there is no doubt that the prophets were awakened, enlightened and empowered by their visionary experiences.

There is an ineffable other-worldly power in this kind of wisdom.  It isn't meant to bring fear of a wrathful God, but awareness of the power of God and of God's reality. There is also a strength and knowledge that has miraculous benefits to all God's children, if we would only give our respect to God and not to anything in this world. 

Whatever name you call God - YHWH, Jehovah, Allah, Jesus, Krishna, Brahma or Great Spirit, it doesn't matter.  God is the source of our lives, our creator, and who waits for us to turn our hearts back to him, where we will experience, like Isaiah, God's love and presence filling our own inner temples, awakening our minds and loosening our lips to proclaim the tremendous wonder and joy of the encounter.

I think we all need to beware of anything or anyone we find ourselves fearing more than God, anyone or anything to which we give our own power, our own decision-making, who we give the power to control our joy.  We all need God today more than ever.  I wonder, if we are willing to fight for our freedom from tyranny are we ready to put our trust and fear on the One who would give us back our lives, restore our dignity, fill our stomachs, clothe our bodies, and provide for us in ways that we can only barely imagine.  Are we, can we, will we, return our hearts to God with a full commitment and determination not to be swallowed up by the saccharine charms that tempt and taunt us like Ulysses's sea nymphs?  

I truly believe that the commitment to turn our hearts and minds and very lives back to God, with fear, love, respect, and honor, above all else, would restore our dignity to the rightful place as the children of God we were always meant to be. Equipped with God's power, wisdom and vision, we will have the tools we need to stand up courageously against the false powers. Then, we will be able to move diligently into the future where we will need God's guidance and strength to co-create a new world - free of oppression, exploitation and greed, this time with a power and love which we've only glimpsed during our long dark ages.