Silver and gold

“for the gain from her [wisdom] is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.”
-Proverbs 3:14

Are there more important things to you than money?

There are few people who would answer no to this question, unless they are honest with themselves. Those same people often neglect their own families to put in a few more hours every week.

It is the chase of something that rules our lives. It is the quest for something. It may not be money. For me, money has never had a huge allure, though there have been many times when I wanted more. And yet I’d like to pass over that to get to something a little different, because this one was a bigger issue for me.

I was always very lonely. I sought companionship and acceptance everywhere I went. It was one of my main missions in life, on my heart and mind everywhere I went.

The gain of God is better. My old loneliness does not compare with what He has been in my life.

We spend our lives chasing something. And sometimes we catch it, but it never lasts longer than the grave. We can never take it with us. At best our name is remembered for generations afterward, but a lot of good that does you when you are dead. More often than recognition, we seek wealth and comfort. There are whole theologies based on this. They tell us that Jesus died so you can get a sweet ride.

And it makes me wonder if those preachers have ever experienced God at all, because if you do, that stuff really starts to fade away in the light of something greater.

This is wisdom, that there are more important matters than the things of this world. There are more important issues than the size of my house. There are more important relationships than those with business associates, customers, or even a spouse. There are greater things to be gained than silver and gold.

Jesus, though He had everything in heaven, gave it all up out of love for us. He died on the Cross for us, because we have sinned and therefore do not deserve life. In that death, He took the punishment that was meant for us. He gave it all up, even His life, to show us something worth more than silver and gold.

If we repent and believe in Him, we will find that life. It is something that does not end when we are put into the ground. It is something that will keep us going for all time.