Truly Valuable

 “Move over! You’re blocking the tv!” Your best friend exclaims. Just as you begin to back away from the screen you hear those life changing words, “And the final number is seven.” The announcer’s voice echoes through your mind as you frantically scan the ticket to make sure all the numbers are really there. Yep, the numbers do indeed match and you break out into your happy dance. The realization of knowing America’s newest multimillionaire hits everyone and a small gathering turns into a wild celebration. In the time it takes to snap your fingers you go from dodging bill collectors to collecting checks. 

Everyone wishes for that kind of scenario which is why millions of people waist their hard earned money on lottery tickets. But what if I told you there’s something far more valuable than money or gold and the best part is you only have to ask for it. If it sounds too good to be true, just open your Bible to Proverbs. “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her,” Prov (3‬:‭13‬-‭15‬). To fully appreciate how valuable wisdom is we need to keep in mind what wisdom means. 

People often conflate wisdom and knowledge but they’re quite different. Knowledge is what you know while wisdom is knowing how and when to apply your knowledge. Wisdom is often gained with experience but unfortunately we don’t always use our experience to make smart decisions. Ladies, all of you have at least one girlfriend who’s gotten into a bad relationship, finally ended it, only to ignore all the red flags and jump into another bad relationship. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten the fellas and I can personally attest about friends who got played and made the same mistake when the next Ms. Irresistible came along. Their problem is just like everyone else who lives in the “I knew I should’ve” mode. They understand what or how to do something but they keep making bad decisions because they ignore what they learned from past experiences. 

Who doesn’t know you can’t continually be late to work but we’ve all heard of people getting fired over it? In those cases the lack of wisdom comes in knowing how to be on time but not applying that knowledge at the right time. Another example of being unwise is using credit cards to live beyond our means which means people end up buried in debt. Interestingly, the easiest way to get knowledge isn’t by experience; it’s by being humble enough to listen. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice,” (‭‭Prov 12‬:‭15‬). We hate to admit it but in our teenage years we were often foolish for letting parental advice go in one ear and out the other. 

As with most things in life wisdom is tied to our relationship with God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight,” ‭‭(Prov 9‬:‭10‬). When you have a reverent fear for God the first thing you ought to do is get saved and start reading the Bible. The insights gained from the Holy Spirit as you learn God’s word will enable you to handle any situation and give you a richer/fuller life. Do you remember earlier when I said you just have to ask for wisdom? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God…and it will be given him,” (James‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬). ‭You have to ask via prayer but God only listens to Christians so if you’re not a Christian, you’re not as wise as you think– which may explain why there’s so many disappointed lottery players. 

Think about it.