Who is the wisest person you have ever known? As I ponder this question many faces come to my mind who fit this bill. But today I will share of only one- my grandfather, Max Kee to everyone else, but PaPa to me.
My grandfather worked hard his whole life. I never knew him to waste time or procrastinate. He began his career working in the Montgomery Ward warehouse in Fort Worth, TX, and he loved to entertain his grandchildren with stories about wearing roller skates to cover the distance from one end of the warehouse to the other quickly. He graduated from Texas Wesleyan University, and then moved his young family to Richardson, TX where he eventually landed at Northern Telecom. He taught third grade Sunday School at our church (and had his very proud, oldest granddaughter in his class), and he served the city of Richardson in many ways, eventually being named citizen of the year for his service.
But more than his accomplishments, my grandfather was sought after and admired for his sound judgment and wisdom by coworkers, friends, and acquaintances alike. I cannot even begin to tell of all the people he counseled and mentored throughout his life. People honored him for his wisdom, leadership, and service. But as his granddaughter, I always knew the source of PaPa’s wisdom was his relationship with God.
My PaPa read his Bible every morning. His mother taught him at a young age that he should not have a Bible in his house that he had not read all the way through, cover to cover. And he took this to heart, reading through every Bible in his house. I never asked him how many times over the years he read all the way through the Bible. But I do know he had many Bibles, and he spent time each morning reading and praying.
Proverbs 1:7 says, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (NLT).
Wisdom, true wisdom, is rooted in fear of the Lord. Or in other words Biblical wisdom begins with responding to God rightly- giving him the honor and glory he deserves and recognizing that wisdom comes from him. Living a life of wisdom is directly connected to spending time in God’s presence and responding to God’s work and leading in our lives.
As we continue our study of Proverbs this summer, may we seek to commune with God and be shaped by the wisdom that only comes from him.
