I’m going to be very honest with your to start this edition. There are a couple of things that I’ve really wanted in my life that are proving to be the proverbial indian head penny. They are things that I’ve wanted for quite a while, but every time I start to get close to being able to get them, something happens.
The two things are a cool old truck that I can actually use to haul stuff and a weather station. I’m not talking about the kind of weather station you can pick up at Radio Shack. I’m talking about the kind that can measure pretty much every weather event we experience.
I especially want to be able to measure the wind. Where we live, we have winds pretty regularly. And pretty strong winds at that. I have been able to find some people not to far from me who have weather stations and share their readings on line. (Yes, I could hear you say just how cool you think I am.) The thing is, one weather station – the closest one to us – has wind measurements that are way lower than others further away. This station doesn’t measure wind as regularly as the others do, so I think it misses the strongest winds.
So, I want a weather station that will measure the winds regularly enough to catch the strongest winds. And I want a cool old truck that I can use to haul wood and tools in. I don’t care if it’s beat up pretty bad. I just want it to be reliable and something I can work on. And old enough to be EMP proof. (I just keep revealing more and more coolness…)
Anyway, I’ve done a lot of research on these items and know which ones I would get if I had the money. The thing is, every time I think we might be able to do one or the other, something happens and the dream gets pushed aside.
And that’s what our proverb for the day is about. Not about the weather station or cool old trucks (but how cool would it be if there were a book of proverbs about that!), but about searching. And not just looking for something once, finding it and moving on. No, we’re talking about the kind of searching that gets deep within us. The kind that drives us to go to great lengths to find the thing we were looking for. Like Benjamin Gates in National Treasure. That’s the kind of search we’re talking about.
But the reward is much more than a truck or weather station. It’s even much more than Silver, Gold or precious rubies.
Proverbs 3:13-15
13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who obtains understanding.
14 For her benefit is more profitable than silver,
and her gain is better than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies,
and none of the things you desire can compare with her.
There is a song that you probably used to sing at church that is based on this verse. The song takes this verse and applies it to the Lord, which is a good thing. However, I’m not sure it’s the best use of this verse. The reason I say that is because I think it gives some of us the wrong impression about wisdom. What I mean is that it makes us feel weird to think about wisdom in this way because the it feels sacrilegious. We feel like this verse is supposed to be about loving God and when we think about it in terms of wisdom it feels wrong.
The thing is, it’s not wrong. It’s biblical. We are supposed to be in pursuit of wisdom in the same way we would be pursuing silver, gold and precious rubies. In fact, none of the riches we could seek can compare with the blessing we will find when we obtain wisdom.
My goal for myself and for you as we go through this series together is that we will have a passion and burden to seek wisdom. My hope for us is that we will have such a strong desire to know the way wisdom wants us to go and to go in it. Can you imagine the impact that would have on the world we live in? I am getting just a glimpse, and I can already see that a wise person plays a very important role in their world. My question is, will you be that person?
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