The last several months I’ve been part of a team of people from my church helping resettle two families of Afghan refugees. In fear for their lives due to their work as security guards at a U.S. airbase, these young parents fled with children in tow to start over in Colorado.

None of the group speaks or reads English. As I observe them settle in, I see their need to understand the language. We track down translators to help them as much as possible, like at the bank or with job interviews, but help is not available most of the time. Working to learn English remains priority one—it’s the beginning of a successful life in this country.

In the same way, if I want to seek knowledge, if I hope to understand instruction and gain wisdom, then I should know where to start. It’s not the internet, and it’s not the great universities of this land. Rather, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

These words of Solomon, the wisest of all kings, reverberate through the ages. To fear the Lord, to acknowledge his rule in my life, to respect his hand and to live his ways start me on the path towards a truly successful life. Maybe not as a social media influencer, but as a person of depth and character.

To live in a place where the language is inaccessible creates severe challenges. To hope for wisdom in life without the fear of the Lord means I’ve chosen a severe path. Don’t join the foolish crowd. Turn toward the Lord and his way of knowledge.

Proverbs 1:7 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Ivan Shilov