Wisdom Or Money
© 12.14.22 By David Eric Williams
Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life. Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life (Ecclesiastes 7:11-12).
The Bible is consistent in its message concerning the value of wisdom. Truly, wisdom - thinking like God thinks - brings life to those who find [it] and healing to their whole body (Proverbs 4:22b, brackets added). Yes, wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe (Proverbs 2:11).
At the same time, Scripture reminds us the world does not appreciate wisdom. Even if the ungodly recognize wisdom's pragmatic value, they cast it aside once the crisis calling for wisdom is over (Ecclesiastes 9:15-16). The world rejects God's way of thinking; the world worships wealth and the power that comes with it.
In tough economic times, money seems more important than wisdom. There are a lot of us who are struggling to make ends meet these days. When our paycheck comes up short and we cannot pay our bills, I wonder how many of us would be willing to trade a bit of wisdom for money. After all, the Bible says both money and wisdom have benefit. According to the passage from Ecclesiastes quoted at the beginning of this article (New Living Translation), wisdom and money can get you almost anything. In the Hebrew, it says both wisdom and money provide a shadow or shade. That is to say, wisdom and money both provide protection. Nevertheless, it is only wisdom that has value in any circumstance. Only wisdom provides a foundation for preserving life.
Ungodly rulers strive to create conditions pushing people to embrace wealth as protection rather than wisdom. They hate wisdom and love death (Proverbs 8:36). They love the chaos produced by their rejection of God's way of thinking. They are satanic.
The rejection of wisdom and embrace of wealth is the status quo. It is unwise to pump an economy full of fiat money. It is unwise to turn away from God's created order concerning families. Enslaving free people through onerous "health directives" is a rejection of wisdom. The world believes easy money gained through a corrupt political process is more important than right thinking. Wisdom is trampled underfoot when wealth and power are your touchstone. God's ways are foolish to the ungodly; the Bible's absolute truth is repugnant to those who are in rebellion against God. And the church at large seems to be at a loss about what to do about it.
You see, we cannot effectively stand against the flood of evil overflowing our nation if we fail to apply all of God's word to all of life. Life cannot be compartmentalized. It is irrational to say God's word applies to some of the human experience but not all. For, Jesus is Lord of all, not one lord among many.
Rather than preach a truncated Gospel, we must offer the world the whole package. The Good News is that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life and died on the cross for our sins. His blood washed away our guilt before God. He rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven. He reigns as the eschaton Adam and has given his people the responsibility to take the Gospel to every corner of the earth. He has left us the Bible, to guide us in this task. Thus, the followers of Jesus have answers to the world's economic woes. We have a successful plan for sex, marriage and families. The principles found in the Bible give guidance concerning the arts, science, judicial practice, government, work and employment, health, leisure and so on. There is nothing the Bible fails to address by direct command or decipherable doctrine. This is the Gospel – all of it. This is the Good News the world needs to hear.
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