When I was a boy, I was fortunate to be surrounded by builders. My stepfather amazed me in the ways he intuitively understood how anything was put together. He seemed to just “get it” when it came to construction, electrical work, masonry, etc. His father was the same way. He understood engines, masonry, roofing, wiring, et al. I was amazed. I have an affection for all of the above but I don’t have the aptitude. That’s simply not where my strengths lie.

This morning I was completing my reading through 2 Chronicles and then later found myself in Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” And there was the same principle: the beginning. The foundation.

“The end depends upon the beginning,” is a common anecdote from the classics. It’s sage counsel. There are exceptions, of course. We all know of people who had rocky starts but then surprised us all by the way they turned out. I remember when I was still teaching full-time and had some students that I had serious doubts about, but somehow they pulled through, and I’m thrilled they did.

But in theological terms, Solomon’s aphorism is spot-on: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Pr 1:7). If the foundation is unsound or faulty or cracked or weak, all that’s built upon it is compromised. This is why first things matter so much–our presuppositions.

Sometimes when I look at the culture, I sense that it is unraveling. Things seem to be upside-down. Somehow things that seemed to have been obvious are suddenly not obvious. And it results in things like moral crassness and loss of civility. Whatever happened to “Please” and “Thank you”? People might scoff at such things now. How antiquated, they might say. Well, yes! But what’s wrong with antiquated? Civility is better than what we have now.

But that’s exactly what Solomon was laboring to get us to understand. It’s the moral fool who scoffs at righteousness. The fool is a scoffer; he’s a mocker. He’s the smart aleck, if you will. He mocks the holy. But he’s living a life built upon a faulty foundation. How and where one begins is of crucial significance. I’m with Solomon.

When I reflect on the many times I had to dig footers and mix the concrete, I didn’t realize at the time that the same logic applied in the moral and theological world. But I look back now and am grateful.