This is about confronting the wolves. If you are wise, you’ll do it.
“Whaddya’ mean, ‘If I’m wise!?’” I can hear the question already.
The Bible teaches that wisdom begins with a fear of the Lord (Prov. 9:10). Let’s unpack that and see where it goes.
First, in this verse, “fear” is not the same thing as “afraid” – at least not mostly. If we are truly IN the faith, then we should have a constant awe for God that reminds us of His holiness, justice, and righteousness.
And yes – if we have this posture, we’ll also properly “fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell” (Matt. 10:28). God is the final judge, and even for the Christian, there will be some face-to-face accountability with Him (2 Cor. 5:10).
But, second, what Proverbs is emphasizing is that a legitimate definition of learning, awareness, and applicable knowledge has to begin someplace. That “someplace” is a correct attitude towards God and a right respect for who He is.
Here’s a gut check. If you doubt Jesus Christ is who He claims to be, then you display a lack of wisdom. If you choose not to believe in Him, if you think there is more than one way to eternal life, or if you’re comfortable defining “God” by your personal preferences and tolerances, then you cannot be wise.
If you don’t believe the Bible says what it means and means what it says – if you’d rather impose your own preferences on Scripture – then wisdom will elude you. You have zero idea how ridiculous and foolish you will become instead (Rom. 1:20-21).
Honestly – this issue is quite plain. If you think you’re wise by any definition other than what is found in God’s Word – you’re not!
Forget about advanced college degrees, framed certificates, and all similar forms of man’s recognition and praise. Big deal!
Those things just mean you got the assignments done. They mean you did what you were told to, and you met man’s standards. A trained dolphin does the same thing.
Some of the most inept, incapable, destructive, arrogant, and foolish people I have known have a parade of alphabet soup after their name. They thought they were something they weren’t. Degrees don’t change the heart.
The truth is real wisdom starts with a proper relationship with God. There is a direct and inviolable connection. That’s the essence of what Proverbs 9:10 is saying.
If you’re not in a proper relationship with your Creator, your views and actions will be futile, irrational, and unwise. If you’d rather embrace a cultural view of Jesus Christ that paints Him as racist, imperfect, genderless – – or anything other than what the Bible plainly states – well, then you DON’T and you WON’T have wisdom.
The implications of this go much further. If you don’t have a right reverence for God, you won’t have a right respect for morality. You won’t pursue God’s values. Sound character – and virtues like honesty, self-control, integrity, and fairness – will mean little to you.
Issues like fair elections, true justice, law and order, the nuclear family, two genders, and national boundaries are some of the things you will be inclined to mock if you don’t have a right view of God. All of these things find their foundation in God’s inerrant Word.
Furthermore, if Biblical truth is not valued BY you, then human life holds no real value FOR you. This is especially the case with those who haven’t taken their first breath – or with those who are close to their last one.
Here’s the heart of what I want to say. We are surrounded by wolves who are working to tear down and suppress God’s truth. Those wolves are attacking the very pillars of wisdom, and they are breeding rapidly both INSIDE the church and OUTSIDE of it.
It’s not a new problem. It was a dilemma many centuries ago when God’s faithful followers encountered wolves inside and outside of their religious convictions. Daniel 11:21-35 tells the whole story.
Here, we find a corrupt leader who came to power deceptively. He tried to enforce cultural conformity because he had no tolerance for the truth. Everyone had to goose-step the same way because his agenda was one that did not revere God.
Though his policies were foolish, and though they made no sense, he still managed to get some of the religious leaders on his side. He flattered them. He made them feel special when they conformed to his mandates, and when they compromised the most important things they needed to cling to instead.
Daniel 11:32-33 contains a remarkable statement, “….the people who know their God will be strong and take action. Those who are wise will instruct many.”
These people were the REAL heroes. They stood up for what was proper. They were not like all the foolish folk. They preserved a proper reverence for God, and they held others accountable to the things that were right.
They went where it was uncomfortable to go, and they said what was uncomfortable to say. And the Bible says they were wise for doing this.
They were few, but they bucked the system. They ‘held others’ spiritual feet to the fire.’ They called a spade a spade. They bravely stood their ground, and they cried, “Fraud!” when it was so.
They refused to compromise or bend. They knew the truth, and they clung to it. They paid a price for doing what was right, but they did it anyways. They did it because they were ‘wise.’
As it was true in the past, so it is true now. Those who truly “know their God” – those who are wise – will display strength and act against deception and compromise just as those who revered God before ALSO did. Those who embrace the truth of God’s Word will resist the encroachment of the world’s ideas upon it.
The hard-hitting example of Daniel 11:32-33 shows there is a distinction between two types of people: those who are strong and wise, and those who are not. It is the strong and wise ones that will resist any invasion into the pillars and expressions of their faith.
It is those who are sincere and committed in their faith who will achieve the things Daniel 11:32-33 calls “great exploits.” It takes a strong person to RESIST the seduction that they are doing the right thing when they let the world define them and their choices.
The wolves are among us – there is no doubt about that. Just look around you.
Confronting them takes great wisdom and strength.
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