Day 11 - You’ll Get What You Chase | Wisdom Becomes You Devotional
Proverbs 2:2, Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. 3 Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. 4 Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. 5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.
In the realm of education (in which I earned a Masters of Science degree), we know there is both active and passive learning. Passive learning is like watching television or listening to someone talk, with no engagement by the learner. Active learning engages the physical senses of the learner and uses something called “authentic context,” which provides instruction that relates to the context of the learner’s world.
The Spirit of God who inspired Solomon to write this part of Proverbs knows all about learning. This is why he used language that related to the context of the readers. Searching “as you would for silver” or “hidden treasures” is more compelling than just “searching.”
On another level, gaining wisdom and understanding is actually more valuable to your life than owning silver and earthly treasures. It is ironic that in our world and culture, making money is considered by many to be the greatest objective in life and spiritual matters do not rate very high. When Jesus said that no one can serve two masters (Matt. 6:24), He was talking about God and money/earthly possessions. Material gain and wisdom are not mutually exclusive, but they must not be equally valued.
The greater point to the text is this: What is your level of intensity and desire for God’s wisdom and understanding? The writer is saying that when people pursue wisdom and understanding with the same motivation they pursue money and things, they will understand the fear of God and gain divine knowledge. It is a matter of desire and priority.
Reflection Question: What do you pursue more than wisdom and understanding from God? How can you correct that imbalance?
Key insight I gained today:
Today’s action item based on insight:
