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One of the first proverbs Solomon wrote was “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (1:7). So many people grasp for knowledge in books, journal articles, magazines, digital media, and so on and so forth. People can search out knowledge of God in commentaries, Bible encyclopedias and dictionaries, try to understand the original languages with help from grammar books, lexicons, and computer software. With all these resources more readily available to the average person than ever before in the history of mankind, one will not scrape the surface of true knowledge without fear.
Solomon wrote this about fear, “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure with trouble. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred ” (Proverbs 15:16-17). Far too often, man’ s greed gets in the way of his happiness and success. This is the major factor in why casinos and the lottery will remain in business: greed. Lack of contentment is a spiritual disease that will lead a soul straight to hell. Remember what Paul wrote, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10). Satan makes it difficult to believe God’s word that having little is better than great treasures. Our society is one of the most consumer oriented in the world. It shows that Satan is alive and well in the form of greed in a culture full of get-rich-quick schemes, professional gambling celebrated on ESPN as an actual sport, the need to “keep up with the Jones’s,” commercials driving the television market, ads coming out our ears everywhere we walk and drive. It seems like an oxymoron for someone to believe that having much is possible while having so little.
Spiritual treasure is what Christians ought to seek, not short-lived material gain of this life. True fear of the Lord is what drives our love for him. To say we love and yet do not fear contradict s itself. That measly dinner of herbs where love abounds that Solomon described is better than the grandest feast imaginable that is filled with hatred. Only with God can you have much yet with so little.
Casey McDonald
Four Mile Hill church of Christ
Searcy, AR