Last month my son went to Washington D.C. with his 8th grade class. It was a full trip with lots of new places to see but for my boy, he was drawn in to the war memorials. His great grandpa served in WWII, so to see the memorial opened his eyes and heart to the value of his family heritage. He came home with a new found passion for discovering more about those medals he had heard about. He wanted to get his hands on the dog-tags that hung around his great grandfathers neck, he wanted to know what each medal meant and searched for answers to bring greater understanding and insight.
You see, those medals always existed, the history was always there but when my boy began to uncover these things, he had new found value and understanding. The history became real to him and the possibilities became endless. He was hooked, he now knew the value of those items and it created an insatiable desire to know more.
My son, if you will receive my sayings, and treasure my commandments within you….Proverbs 2:1
When I first set out on this search for wisdom I was looking forward to finally being wise enough to fill the shoes of a 40-something. I figured it was time to add some depth to my knowledge and get a little of what that King Solomon had, into me. Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding….yadda yadda yadda…yes yes yes, get wisdom.
Little did I know the depths of wisdom or the value of it. I didn’t know that searching out wisdom is painstaking and you are to seek it like a treasure. I don’t even think I saw wisdom as a treasure to be found but something to be gained. I thought of wisdom as knowledge that is accumulated by learning and time. I had no idea we were going on a paleontology dig in the desert to uncover and resurrect dry bones.
If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures, then you will discern the FEAR OF THE LORD and discover the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:4
Seeking silver is no small task, it is tedious and meticulous. Wisdom is the same, seeking her as a hidden treasure takes time and tenacity and patience and pains, but the reward….with each sweep of the brush more of the rubble is removed, with each burn of the silver more of the impurities are brought to the surface, with each part of wisdom that is uncovered the reward is a treasure. The reward is understanding the fear of The Lord and the knowledge of God. As we uncover each piece of wisdom we are becoming more defined in our character.
Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; Discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you. Proverbs 2:9-11
Understanding the value of something is everything. Its one thing to know that wisdom is good and you want to be smarter, its a whole other ball game to have wisdom come alive and present itself as more precious then silver, a treasure that must be sought out and discovered.
Knowing the value is everything.
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