Empty Hands, Open Hearts: The Wisdom of Being Teachable
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7 (KJV)
There's something profoundly humbling about Solomon's opening words in Proverbs. Here stands the wisest man who ever lived, and his first lesson isn't about accumulating facts or winning arguments, it's about posture. The posture of fear. The posture of reverence. The posture of someone who knows they don't know it all.
How often do we approach God's Word like scholars defending a thesis rather than students seeking truth? We flip through familiar passages, nodding along with verses that confirm what we already believe, while our eyes glaze over the uncomfortable ones that challenge our assumptions. We come to Scripture like lawyers building a case rather than children learning to walk.
But notice what Solomon calls this alternative approach: foolishness. "But fools despise wisdom and instruction." The Hebrew word for "despise" here carries the idea of rejecting with contempt, of treating something as worthless. When we use the Bible merely to rubber-stamp our existing opinions, we're essentially saying, "I already know what I need to know. God's Word is only valuable when it agrees with me."
The "fear of the LORD" that Solomon describes isn't terror, it's the breathless awe of standing before infinite wisdom and recognizing our desperate need for it. It's the difference between a cocky student who thinks they could teach the class and a hungry learner who hangs on every word because they know their life depends on understanding.
This fear produces a specific kind of knowledge, not just information, but transformation. When we approach God's Word as learners rather than lecturers, something beautiful happens: we discover truths that make us uncomfortable, and that discomfort becomes the very place where growth occurs.
Consider how often Jesus had to correct people who thought they had God figured out. The Pharisees knew their Scriptures backward and forward, yet missed the Messiah standing right in front of them. They had turned God's Word into a weapon for their arguments rather than a mirror for their hearts.
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)
Here's the invitation: to come before God with empty hands and an open heart. To let His Word shape our opinions rather than forcing our opinions onto His Word. To embrace the uncomfortable verses alongside the comforting ones, knowing that God's wisdom often looks foolish to our limited perspective.
Reflection Questions:
- When you read Scripture, are you more often surprised by what you find, or do you find exactly what you expected?
- What biblical truths make you uncomfortable, and how might God be using that discomfort to teach you?
- How can you cultivate a "fear of the LORD" that leads to genuine learning rather than mere confirmation?
Prayer:
Lord, help us to come before Your Word not as experts but as students, not as judges but as those being judged by Your truth. Give us the humility to let Your wisdom reshape our thinking, even when it challenges our comfortable assumptions. May we truly fear You, not in terror, but in the awe-struck recognition that You alone have the words of eternal life. Amen.
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