The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  Proverbs 9:10

            The Bible states that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalms 111:10, Proverbs 1:7, & Proverbs 9:10).  So what does it mean to fear the Lord?  Proverbs 8:13 which says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.”  To fear God means we hate evil.  So how do we hate evil? Psalm 119:104 says, “Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.”  So the Word is your answer.  After you have understanding from the Word, you still have to exercise restraint though.  Psalm 119:101 says, “I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word.”

            Once you know and understand the Word, you have to apply it to your life and obey it.  You will always be faced with a choice of good and evil (Deuteronomy 30:19).  The Word gives you the understanding and discernment to know which choice is good and which choice is bad.  Hebrews 4:12b says, “the Word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  So if you do not have the Word, you will not have the discernment to know if your thoughts are good or evil.  If you do have the Word, you have a choice to make when an evil thought comes.  2 Corinthians 10:5b says we are to, “cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” To truly hate evil in this situation and walk in obedience, you must know the Word to discern that your thought is evil.  Then you must obey the word and cast the thought down and give it to the Lord.  Declare that you have the mind of Christ.  This is restraining your feet from evil and keeping the word (Psalm 119:101).  The Word is a discerner of your thoughts, but also according to Romans 12:2 the Word also allows you to prove Gods perfect will in your life.  You must renew your mind by getting in the Word daily.  Then you can hate and restrain yourself from every evil way.