Learning to Live Righteously - Proverbs 1:7

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." This basic tenet of the book of Proverbs is that the "fear of the Lord" is the place where we start learning how to live righteously. The "fear of the Lord" is the perception or awareness that there is a Creator/Redeemer of the world in which we live. This capability to perceive God is built into every human being. The Apostle Paul says, "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made" (Romans 1:20). So the learning process for godly or righteous living described in the book of Proverbs is this: A perception of God as our Creator/Redeemer, is the basis for knowledge, which is a correct understanding about the world and about God, and then wisdom is the application of the knowledge of the world and of God for living rightly and righteously. Thus, godliness or righteousness comes from the recognition that there is a God and He is the Creator and Redeemer of the universe and the source of all truth and righteousness.