Proverbs 15

³³The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

How do you learn wisdom? Fear the Lord. Being wise means being able to discern which of the multitude of options available, is the right one to pick to achieve the best outcome. In the narrow sense of salvation, discerning the option of Christ as the way to achieve the best outcome of actually surviving judgment and enjoying eternity, comes from knowing that God is worthy of fear. Within that context being humble before God and knowing that He is doing the saving, not me will lead me to honor with Him in glory.

Aside from the salvation aspects that this verse conjures up, I also see my desire for honor professionally and ecclesiastically. This verse is pointing out that I need to pursue humility before I can expect to receive honor. Instead of longing for honor, which I spend a lot of time doing, I should be longing for humility.