Proverbs 8:19

Is anything better than money? After all, money can solve many issues (Eccl 7:12; 10:19). They say you cannot buy love, but love is fickle and often disappointing. Is anything better than money? Yes! Wisdom’s effects on a life are better than fine gold or choice silver. No amount of money can buy wisdom (Job 28:15-19). It is a gift from God to those who ask and seek for it. Do you put forth the effort to obtain this precious asset?

The average man works forty hours a week, but with travel time to and from his job and required breaks, he can easily hit fifty hours or more. If he is ambitious or paid overtime, he may push the total to sixty, eighty, or even more hours. But what does this effort and zeal gain him? Any bed still brings sleep. Most any food still brings pleasure and health. What will he take with him when he dies? Has his extreme labor been greatly in vain?

Men research for hours to find a better job, a new business plan, or investments yielding greater returns. They go to school for many years to qualify for lucrative professions. They apply themselves day and night to enhance their careers or build their businesses. But in the end, they have no wisdom, and they die like a dog. They leave behind lonely wives and dysfunctional children. They fret while alive, and they die frustrated.

Wisdom is the power of right judgment. It knows what is good in every situation. It understands life and knows God’s will. It sees the lies and errors of men. It knows what is acceptable for any decision. It discerns the snares of false thinking and traps of deceivers. It glories in the truth about God, the universe, the purpose of man, and the right response to any predicament. It knows the way to success and favor with God and men.

But how many men seek wisdom as much as they seek money or wealth? Very few! The devil, the world, and their vain hearts have sold them a lie. They run furiously and painfully on the treadmill of life to achieve what the world calls success – only to be thrown off into hell at the end. This is ridiculous vanity and insanity! Life is short; use your few days to seek wisdom. A modest investment every day can save your life.

This proverb is simple – wisdom’s results in a life are more valuable than wealth. Solomon, who had both, knew. He said wisdom was more valuable (Pr 3:14-15; 8:10-11; 16:16; Job 28:15-19; Eccl 7:12; Ps 119:14,72,127). What will you do today to obtain it? Wisdom can save you from life’s troubles and lead you to true prosperity and peace. It is a matter of priority, so you must get rid of foolish time wasters and search for wisdom.

Wisdom is fearing God and keeping His commandments (Pr 1:7; 8:13; Eccl 12:13-14). His fear is found by humbling yourself, confessing your sins, and seeking His face. His commandments are in His scriptures, the Bible. What will you do today to seek the fear of God and learn the Bible? Will you give wisdom 1% of your day, or about 15 minutes?

Jesus described the kingdom of God as a very rare pearl that totally obsessed a merchant man, who sold all that he had to buy that one pearl (Matt 13:45-46). How important is Jesus Christ and His kingdom to you? What are you willing to give up for it? Solomon wrote elsewhere, “Buy the truth, and sell it not” (Pr 23:23). Very few give up anything, so they live without wisdom, suffer the world’s pain, and never enjoy the true riches.

Where will you be Sunday? Dancing with a praise band and laughing at jokes from a pretend-preacher, or learning wisdom by hard preaching of sound doctrine (II Tim 4:1-4)? If you attend a Bible-preaching church, do you prepare and pray before you attend, and do you participate passionately with focus. Seek wisdom like other men do riches.