Better Than Gold

One more truth we seldom believe: It is better to get wisdom than gold; and to choose understanding rather than silver.

This leaped off the page at me tonight, probably because of something I heard recently that stuck in my mind. A woman who was teaching about the brain, memories, thoughts, and stress said that when you think properly (which is a combination of mental self-discipline and lifestyle choices) you become more intelligent. As you use your intelligence properly, you gain wisdom, and the wiser you are, the easier life becomes. I have suspected that wisdom makes life easier, and I was encouraged by hearing a brain expert confirm my suspicions. Solomon adds his mite, as well.

Think carefully about what Solomon said. He said that if you have a choice between money (ie, silver and gold) and wisdom and understanding, you’d be better off with wisdom and understanding. Whatever we do at this point, let’s not spiritualize this! When he says "it is better," he doesn’t mean that someday, when our lives are over, and we’re standing before God, we’ll be happy we had wisdom instead of money. What he means is that wisdom and understanding will have a more lasting, more powerful, and more positive impact on our lives than money.

What that means is that if you have a half an hour, and you have a choice between using it to get money, and using it to get wisdom, you’re better off to use it to get wisdom.

Ah. Now you’re getting my point. Do we really believe that?

If you’ve read Proverbs much, you’ve perhaps noticed how often it says, "I saw this and considered, and understood." The fact is that reading Proverbs a gazillion times isn’t what will make you wise. Part of how we gain wisdom is by considering things. In other words, if you aren’t willing to take time to sit quietly and think about what you have done and said, and what has happened in your life, and even what has happened in the lives of those around you, you haven’t a chance of ever learning from life, and being wise. You may prefer to spend that time working, in order to get or save money, but keep in mind that when you are wise, you don’t have to exert so much energy in order to accomplish the same thing. Wisdom is what sharpens the ax so that you don’t have to swing the ax so often or so hard in order to chop the wood.

I have plenty of room for growth, but I can testify to the truth of what Solomon said. I have frequently chosen to invest my time to gain wisdom and understanding, rather than money, and I like the results so well that I want to invest more of my time this way. My life is infinitely easier than it was ten years ago. I have more money, too.

I think that makes "getting wisdom" a "no-brainer".

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