Treasure Wisdom

"Does not wisdom call out?

Does not understanding raise her voice?

At the highest point along the way,

where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

beside the gate leading into the city,

at the entrance, she cries aloud:

'To you, O people, I call out;

I raise my voice to all mankind.

You who are simple, gain prudence;

you who are foolish, set your hearts in it.'"

Proverbs 8:1-5

There is much to value in this world:  An education.  Success.  Wealth.  Popularity.  Meaning.  While it is not popular to treasure godly wisdom, the farsightedness God possesses, His ability to see the big picture; there is a reason to hold as dear such a prize.

True Riches.  It can be tricky to pick out the valuable from the worthless.  My flesh leads me wrong every time, leaning me toward what seems so important like money in the bank, a full social calendar, or a well-respected and enjoyable career.  But will it last?  In the end, when I stand before God, will He count all I invest in as eternally dear?  Or will it be categorized as something that will pass away with the rest of the temporary (2 Peter 3:10, Matthew 6:19-21)?

Godly wisdom is considered as one of the eternally valuable possessions I can treasure.  Seeking advice from godly counsel, humbling myself to joyfully receive the hard words of discipline God often speaks, and desiring God's best for me even when it seems less than desirable at the time are all examples of how I can model my heart's desire to gain prudence and insight for living.  I will never be sorry I went after such treasure.

When I pursue wisdom and recognize it as truly valuable, I'll find when I get to the end of my life that it is worth more than all the gold in the world (Proverbs 8:9-21).

Preliminary.  "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  (Genesis 1:1)  If I were to ask, "What was the first thing God created?" most of us would answer with great confidence, "Light." (v 3)  Unfortunately, we would all be wrong.

Wisdom was there first (Proverbs 8:22-31).  It was God's wisdom that created all things, and He first brought it forth into His creation before the first beam of light shone through the darkness.  Therefore, when God made all things, wisdom was already there, waiting to be sought after by man.  With such an important place in the order of all things, I must see that to respect wisdom and hold it as most appreciated among all He made shows I have an understanding of God's value system.

When I pursue wisdom and recognize it as truly valuable, I have shown my comprehension of God's priorities.

Life and Favor.  There are many philosophies which I can follow in life, a variety of viewpoints from which I can see my way through each day.  Some say to pay attention to daily needs and the rest will fall into place.  Others say to live right and it will come back to you threefold.  But only one says to seek after wisdom in order to find life and favor.

While I could simply look for what seems wise to my own eyes, I could also dedicate my days to following Jesus and paying attention to the lead of the indwelling Spirit to highlight what comes from Him.  When I do the latter, I'll find the abundant life Jesus came to give me and the favor of God I need to find His best for me (John 10:10, Psalm 5:12).

When I pursue wisdom and recognize it as truly valuable, I will find the life Jesus died for me to live and His unmerited grace overflowing in my life.

There is so much to value in this world, but as a follower of Jesus Christ my priorities must be different.  For one who is saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ, I can adopt God's value system.  When I do, I'll discover the true wealth that is found in His wisdom, that godly understanding and prudence existed before anything else was created and thus is the foundation of all things, and that the full life and favor of God I need comes from holding His knowledge and insight as dear.  When I treasure godly wisdom, I'll discover God's best for me.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to look for His wisdom throughout each moment.

When do I value worldly treasures more than I do insight for godly living?

How do I scorn biblical understanding as less than important as compared to success or financial security?