The Most Important Ingredient

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” (Pr 4:7 AV)

Those first five words jumped right off the page this morning.  The Bible is filled with statements of absolute truth.  A succinct statement that is a foundation for many more truths.  This one, in particular, sums up the most necessary of all things to attain.  More than any other goal in life; more than any other possession of life;  more than anything else that can be attained; wisdom is the highest priority.  Wisdom is needed in order to know God.  Wisdom is needed in order to accept Christ.  Wisdom is needed for a life of blessing and happiness.  Wisdom is needed to avoid trouble.  Wisdom is indeed the principal thing.  Therefore, Solomon says, get it!  If we were to make a list of all those things or people we pursue and prioritize them, where would wisdom fall on that list?  It is not that these things are unimportant.  They are.  But when Solomon states that wisdom is the principal thing, he is not comparing it with another.  Wisdom is not ‘a’ principal thing.  It is ‘the’ principle thing.  Without wisdom, nothing else works.

As I sit here, my mind occasionally goes to pan-baked cornbread.  I love good cornbread.  I found a recipe for Famous Dave's pan-baked cornbread.  It is absolutely divine.  One might think that butter is the main ingredient.  It is not.  Butter can be substituted with shortening.  Another ingredient would be milk.  But milk can also be substituted.  There is vegetable oil.  I use olive oil instead.  Baking soda and baking powder are used.  But these also can be substituted for something else that would assist in the rising process.  Sugar can be swapped out for a different sweetener.  Salt can be replaced by a different herb or even a salty cheese.  Almost all ingredients can be replaced by something else and still be considered cornbread.  There is only one ingredient that is a must-have.  If it didn’t have this ingredient, the finished product could not be called cornbread.  It is the principal thing.  When I get a hankerin’ for Famous Dave’s cornbread, I scour the pantry to see if this one item is there.  If it is not, there won’t be any cornbread tonight.  I may have the 12-inch cast-iron pan.  I may have the all-purpose flour, milk, and eggs.  But if this one ingredient is not available, cornbread is impossible.  If we go shopping with cornbread on the menu, this one ingredient must be in the cart.  There is no substitute.  It must be a specific type or there is no cornbread.  There may be a couple of variations of this ingredient, but only one will make it true cornbread.  What is it?  Cornmeal, of course.  Not the self-rising kind.  Yuk.  Not the white cornmeal, either.  It must be coarse yellow cornmeal.  When one looks at the recipe, based purely on volume, cornmeal is not the most abundant of ingredients.  But it is the principal item to make the cornmeal what it is.  Delicious.

When Solomon says that wisdom is ‘the’ principal thing, he is not suggesting other things have equal billing.  He means just what he says.  There are things that cannot be pursued.  Like fear.  Fear is the beginning of wisdom.  Fear precedes wisdom.  But fear is not something that we can pursue.  It is an emotion given by God that the Holy Spirit enhances.  That is if we yield to it.  Acquisition of wisdom is something in which we proactively participate.  We read the word of God.  We yield to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  We apply what we have read and learned.  In doing so, we learn more application of truth we already know.  We mature in our faith and walk.  This wisdom is the ingredient most important to our walk with God.  It is the principal thing.  The question arises, how important is it to us?  How far up on the list does it appear.  Is it somewhere below ambition, pleasure, or contentment?  Where does it lie?  Solomon says it should be number one.  Of all that we could be occupied with, attaining wisdom should be the highest of all objectives.