Better Wisdom Than Riches

Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning all of them are right; they are upright to those who have found knowledge. Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion." Proverbs 8:6-12 NIV

Whenever we think we are wise--about anything--we need only to go back to the book of Wisdom in Proverbs and read with renewed interest and zeal the words of the Wise One--through Solomon. Once again, I encourage all who read my blogs to read entire passages referenced for there is so much more revelation knowledge to be obtained.

The first thing we have to do is--listen--to what wisdom is saying. We cannot do that if we are not open to hearing from those who are wiser than we are. And the only way we can know we lack wisdom is through the humility of understanding, none of us--know everything. For The Believer in Jesus Christ--our wisdom should only come from above from the only Wise God--not people who think they know. How do we know when we are hearing from God? We find confirmation in His Word--already spoken through those who were willing to hear Him.

Additionally, we need discernment--ability to separate truth from lies, wisdom from foolishness, true believers from those simply using Christianity as a banner. How do we gain discernment to separate fact from fiction? We listen to Holy Spirit who will not tell us anything other than what God has already spoken and what He says, is readily available for confirmation in His Word.

Then we need to determine our priorities--establishing the importance of everything we encounter in our lives. If living according to God's Word is not a priority, we end up grasping for anything to hold onto as we free-fall through life's many challenges. Unfortunately, many grasp onto whatever sounds good rather than what is good. We are deceived through desires to obtain riches rather than wisdom and our pursuit of wealth makes us do foolish things because we have not wisdom. Seeking wisdom is better than seeking riches or wealth for with the wisdom, we discover avenues to wealth that will last a life time rather than for a moment.

When knowledge accompanies wisdom, we walk the path of righteousness, we understand foolishness and we avoid the pitfalls and snares the enemy has planned for us. We know when to speak and when to be quiet. We know how to measure the impact of our words by thinking before we speak. We know how to serve others rather than waiting for others to serve us. We know who belongs to God and can separate them from those who don't, simply because of the love that flows from those who know God. We operate with knowledge and prudence--remembering that God sees and knows all--and He is never deceived by any our attempts to fool others.

If we really take the time to think about all God has to say to us through His Word, we would begin to realize that pursuing riches and wealth--cannot begin to compare to the value of wisdom and knowledge.