Read
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7
Reflect
What did you do for fun last weekend? A trip out of town? A walk on the beach? See a good movie? Maybe a fun time at an amusement park?
How about a ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel?
No? Well, that’s good, because it’s illegal. But it wasn’t illegal on October 24, 1901, when a 63-year-old schoolteacher named Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to successfully make that trip. And here’s an interesting detail: It was her birthday. That’s one way to celebrate.
Strapped into a specially equipped pickle barrel, Taylor bounced down the rapids and over the falls. She had prepared for the trip with a leather harness and cushions inside the barrel, and despite being battered by the experience, she reached the shore alive.
Unfortunately, her overall plan didn’t work. Taylor was a widow who had fallen on hard financial times, and she hoped the stunt would bring her fame and fortune. She got a little of the former and almost none of the latter. People didn’t care about her derring-do for very long, and she eventually died in poverty. Between 1901 and 1995, 15 more people would make the plunge, and 10 of them survived.
Taylor herself wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about anyone following in her footsteps. After the experience, she warned others not to attempt it. Apparently, one trip over Niagara Falls was enough to convince her that it wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Yes, people will often do incredibly foolish things to get attention. If there’s a teenager with a cell phone nearby, there’s a good chance that something has been attempted recently that shouldn’t have been, whether by them or someone else. But sometimes foolish decisions come from something more complicated than a desire for attention. Taylor was desperate to escape poverty, and she convinced herself that risking her life was the way to do it.
Foolishness isn’t anything new. In fact, much of the book of Proverbs is devoted to the difference between foolishness and wisdom. One of my favorite verses is, “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” (Proverbs 29:11) It’s a reminder that wisdom often requires us to stop and think instead of acting on whatever impulse or emotion is driving us at the moment.
But the best one is probably, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) That word “fear” doesn’t simply mean “terror.” It involves reverence, respect and an understanding of who God is. We recognize His holiness, His authority and His power, and we approach Him with the humility that comes from knowing He is God and we are not. But He is also loving, and we should love Him as the loving and caring Father that He is. When we recognize who God is and acknowledge His authority over our lives, we have the foundation for true wisdom.
Fools, on the other hand, often believe they know better. They ignore warnings, dismiss good advice and convince themselves that the consequences won’t be as bad as everyone says. Alexander Pope wrote that “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” and that echoes common themes throughout Proverbs. Foolish people don’t necessarily lack intelligence or courage. Sometimes they’re quite clever. Their problem is that they allow what they want to overshadow what they know.
That’s what makes Taylor’s story so interesting. She didn’t simply climb into a barrel on a whim. She planned the stunt, designed the barrel and took precautions to improve her chances of survival. She knew what she wanted and had worked out a way to get it. What she apparently hadn’t considered carefully enough was whether the reward would be worth the risk.
As Christians, we should be different in the way we make our decisions. That doesn’t mean we should always play it safe. Following Christ sometimes requires tremendous courage, and doing what is right can involve risks that other people would never consider taking. But there’s a difference between risking something for a purpose that honors God and risking it simply to get what we want.
Wisdom isn’t just knowing how to accomplish something. It’s knowing whether that something is worth pursuing in the first place. Taylor survived Niagara Falls, but the fortune she wanted never came. She accomplished something remarkable without accomplishing what she’d hoped to achieve.
Keep that healthy fear of the Lord and seek His wisdom. Before rushing into a decision, consider not only what you hope to gain, but what you might have to sacrifice to get it. Make sure the decisions you make aren’t designed to gain you favor in the eyes of man, but instead in the eyes of God.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
