Proverbs 1:7

verse 7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Remember the movie Cars that came out a few years back? (if you haven’t seen it, the following paragraphs may “spoil” it, so skip to the end if you don’t want to know the plot!)

It was the Disney-Pixar animated tale of an up-and-coming race car named Lightning McQueen and his quest to be the champion of the Piston Cup series. Along the way to the championship tie-breaker race, he gets marooned in a small town, working off a fine for inadvertently tearing up the street.

Still arrogant and self-centered, he winds up racing the town doctor and judge to a one-lap race, which to his own amazement he loses. During a break from working off the fine, he keeps constantly trying to figure out why he spun out on the 3rd turn. Doc Hudson looks on, finally driving up to try and tell “the rookie” what he did wrong. Lightning arrogantly refuses to listen; it’s not till later in the movie that Lightning discovers that Doc Hudson is really the retired Hudson Hornet, the famous racing car and 3-time Piston Cup champion. When Lightning then tries to ask him questions, Doc retorts, “oh, sure, now you want to listen to me!”

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”…it wasn’t till Lightning realized who Doc was that he respected him and wanted to learn from him…but Doc was who he was before Lightning realized that.

God was, is, and will ever be…God! He reigns…He is the Creator…He is omniscient and omnipotent. Even though He gave us free will, we won’t learn anything in our quest for wisdom until we acknowledge who He is! Then we can start.

Something to think about; have a blessed day!

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2 Corinthians 10:18

verse 18: “For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.”

We spend a lot of time searching for approval and acceptance. Growing up, we want to please our parents, those guides God set before us to teach us about life. We spend much of our working life wanting approval from our bosses, that we’re doing our jobs well and correctly. In athletics, it’s the coach’s praise we want to let us know we’re doing things right. In learning a new hobby or pastime, we want that teacher or mentor’s praise that means “I made it. I achieved my goal.” If you saw the Disney-Pixar movie Cars, you realize this when, after all his pursuit of selfish ambition and fan acceptance, when Lightning McQueen does the right thing and it costs him the championship he wanted, the approval of old Doc Hudson makes it all worth it.

Now realize that man’s approval is worthless dirt when compared to the gold standard of the Lord. It is He whose approval we should really care about day in and day out. That can be hard, especially if you have a hard day where it seems like you can do no right in man’s eyes…but keep your eye on God, for in the long run of eternity, it’s His approval that matters….His and His alone.

You will not be alone either. As Christians, Jesus is our coach. Fellow Christians will be (or at least should be!) our “fans” and fellow athletes rooting us on in that pursuit. I know I want to hear, when I cross the heavenly finish line of life, “well-done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Have a blessed day!

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