How Can You Get True Wisdom?

Published on 04/28/24 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.

People are able to dig deep under the Earth to find the most precious metals (gold and silver) and gemstones (such as sapphires), and they then have the ability to purify the gold and silver with fire. Only man can find such hidden treasures; no birds nor the beasts of the land can ever pass through such recesses of the Earth to get to them.

But there is something much more precious than gold and sapphires that not even humans can find, even in the depths of Earth, regardless how hard they may look: wisdom.

True wisdom is pure, peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy (James 3:17). Those who possess wisdom sow and reap good fruits of peace, happiness, and righteousness. Naturally, such immeasurable benefits and enduring qualities make wisdom priceless, far more valuable than gold and rubies.

Since wisdom is more precious than gold and rubies, it cannot be bought or searched out by humans. Rather, we can receive wisdom only from its heavenly Source: Yahweh God.

After having established wisdom and tested it, the all-seeing and all-wise Yahweh ordained for us: to fear Him is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding (Job 28:28).

If we want to be wise, the most crucial and fundamental thing we need to do is to fear Yahweh.

But what does it mean to fear Yahweh? Does it mean that we should be afraid of God, trembling in fear every time we think about Him? Should we feel intimidated? The demons are afraid of God and tremble; should we be like the demons? (James 2:19)

No. Our fear of God should be reverend fear, which really means respect. We should respect and honor God as the highest King in the universe.

Since Yahweh is the King of the universe, we must avoid disobeying Him. We must fear of the consequences of disobedience to His will. However, our fear should stem from love for our King, not because we feel threatened.

The Bible says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18, WEB)

Thus, to fear Yahweh is not to actually be afraid of Him. Instead, the fear of Yahweh is to be afraid of hurting Him. Even though Yahweh is our King, He is also our Heavenly Father. Because He is our Father, we should love Him dearly. In fact, to love God is the most important commandment: "You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." (Deuteronomy 6:5) This love of ours should propel us to obey Yahweh and make Him happy. This love should prevent us from hurting Him by our disobedience. This love should make us be afraid of hurting Him, not be afraid of Him.

Simply put, to fear Yahweh is to respect and love Him. And the way we express our fear of Yahweh is to live according to His will and obey His commandments, and to depart from evil, which is our understanding. This is how we can have a sacred, wonderful, intimate relationship with our dear Heavenly Father!