One of the qualities we need most we rarely purposely pursue …

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We usually expend our time, treasure, and talent on what is sincerely important to us. So what does it say about us when we consider most of us rarely purposely, energetically, or consistently seek after one of the qualities we need most.

What is that?

Wisdom.

Here’s just one sentence revealing the value scripture puts on our getting wisdom:

“For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it,” Proverbs 8:11.

Forbes Magazine reported that in May of 2012, a 32-carat Burmese ruby and diamond ring (pictured at right) that was part of the collection of Lily Safra, one of the richest women in the world, was sold at an auction. The pre-auction estimate for the sale was $3–5 million, but the final sale price ended up at $6.7 million. It is believed to be the most expensive ruby ever sold.

Proverbs teaches us that wisdom is “… far more valuable than rubies,” so if it’s something we can have, why don’t we pursue it like it is a great treasure?

Because we don’t value wisdom the same way scripture does. We’re content to blunder our way through life being no more than “street wise,” thinking there’s not that many really “big” decisions in life that will require wisdom, and when we have to face those, we’ll pause to pray.

That’s beyond flawed thinking, and it overlooks the reality that small things add up to have massive impact in ways we never considered, a fact captured in this story from an unidentified source:

    There is an ancient Indian legend of a king who loved chess. He challenged visitors to a game, and was usually victorious. One day, a traveling sage visited the kingdom and was challenged to a game. To entice him to play, the king offered to give the sage whatever reward he asked if he won. When the king was defeated, to honor his word he asked the sage what prize he would like. The sage asked for one grain of rice to placed on the first square of the chessboard, and then that it be doubled on each following square.

    The request seemed modest, and the king ordered a bag of rice to be brought. One grain was placed on the first square, two on the second, four on the third, eight on the fourth and so on. But it quickly became apparent the terms of the request were impossible to meet. By the twenty-first square more than one million grains of rice would be required. By the thirty-first square the total would go over one billion — with more than half of the chessboard still left to go.

Small things have a big impact when they are added together. It is important that we seek God’s wisdom for every decision we make, regardless of how small it seems to us. Or, as the Bible exhorts us, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise,” Ephesians 5:15.

Wisdom isn’t something that God tells us to pursue but then hides away from us. God wants to make us wise! But we must ask for wisdom, and rely upon God for the source of it:

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do,” James 1:5-8.

Take some time with these questions:

    • Is wisdom important to you?
    • How do you value having wisdom?
    • Is wisdom something you seek? If so, how?
    • Have you asked God for wisdom?
    • Do you have faith in God alone as your source of wisdom?

Scotty