“Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.” (Pr 8:18 AV)
In chapter eight, the wisdom of God is personified as a woman. The intent is to compare wisdom against the
strange woman. The strange woman is an adulterous
woman who represents one’s wicked desires.
There is a comparison between God’s wisdom and the wisdom of man’s heart
and mind. Above, wisdom promises durable
riches. In the immediate context, the riches
compares against are material things like gold, silver, and gems. These things, Jesus warns, can accumulate rust
or become moth-eaten. The material
things of this world are not durable.
The riches of which the wisdom of God speaks of cannot be bought and
sold on the commodities markets. They
cannot be bought or sold on the futures market.
They cannot be traded on the durable goods market. The things of which the wisdom of God speaks
are riches that cannot be measured by a calculator. They cannot be valued with a dollar amount. These riches cannot be stolen. These riches will last a lifetime and even
into eternity. These riches may result
in material gain, but not always. They
will, however, result in a life full of the presence of God. These riches mankind cannot take away and the
only way we can lose them is if we give them away.
When my father recently passed, he left behind a large collection of
photos. He was a prolific
photographer. This was back in the day
when photography was a project. He had his
35mm camera, but this was before everything was made to be automatic. He got out his light do-hickey that told you
how much light there was. It told you
what shutter speed and aperture to set the lens to. When you look at the earlier pictures, they
are all posed snapshots. Then came the
SLR camera and he was able to take more action photos. Most of the pictures centered around camping. We did a lot of camping. Between the Boy Scouts and family camping, we
spent about a quarter of our lives outdoors in tents, mud, ponds, and the
woods. When looking through these
pictures, memories begin to emerge. What
I have noticed is these memories, even if they were saturated with undesirable
events, bring back memories of the good times.
Not all camping trips were 100% fun.
Not all family vacations were picture-perfect. There were always those things that happened
that were not planned and would rather forget.
However, looking at those pictures I am reminded of the relationships we
shared. A hike in the woods with my
sister and brother wherein we encountered a wild turkey for the first
time. It scared the daylights out of
us. We thought a helicopter had just
taken off. There were those cold a rainy
weekends we spent going from cabin to cabin.
It was cold and miserable. Yet,
there is something about a live fire in a fireplace on such days as this. These memories, and many more, represent
experiences in life that brought riches.
They didn’t cost a whole lot. But they brought experiences which last a
lifetime.
Recently speaking to someone about my childhood camping days, there are
several life-skills gained by these times which the vast majority of mankind no
longer possess. If a serious injury
occurs, I know CPR and first aid. If I
am abandoned in the woods with no water or food, I can survive. If the utilities go out for an extended period,
we will be ok. Even more important than
life skills is the spiritual benefit from these times. The benefit of a grateful heart. The benefit of a patient spirit. The benefit of faith amid adversity. The benefit of problem-solving. The final thought which we do want to take away
is perhaps the most important. We assume
if someone is blessed with material wealth, this automatically means he or she
is wise. Not so. Many very wealthy people cannot keep their
families together and because they lack humility, will never accept Christ. They can be wise with money, but lose it all
upon their death. However, some are a
poor as a church mouse, but their riches far and above exceed those of the wealthiest
businessman on earth.
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