Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
Would the average fifteen-year-old like a brand new corvette, a million dollars, and powerful influence on the people of his world? The answer is probably “yes.” Yet, what would happen if I gave a fifteen-year-old a corvette? Well, maybe nothing. There are many good fifteen-year-old drivers, but if he doesn’t have a lick of sense, he could do a lot of damage to that fiberglass corvette. If a fifteen-year-old won the lottery, where would that money be in ten years? Well, he might have it, or it might be that calamity would follow as it often does.
What would happen if you gave a fifteen-year-old incredible influence? What would happen would depend on how wise he was. The better question is, “What if you had a brand new corvette, a million dollars, and huge influence?” Maybe you have one of those things and maybe that is not wrong. What is definitely right, however, is that none of those things will do you any good. In fact, they may actually do you harm if you don’t have the most important thing first.
Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.” Wisdom is more important than money, influence, or being attractive or brilliant. All those can actually work against one who does not have wisdom first. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.”
Then the Bible says, “With all thy getting get understanding.” Well, what is wisdom and how does it lead to understanding? Wisdom is the fear of God. It is an attitude more than a possession. It is an attitude toward the truth, which means an attitude toward God, toward the authority He has placed in our lives, and toward the truth He has put down in Scripture. It is an attitude, not so much an ability. All the ability in the world is counterproductive if I don’t have an attitude toward the truth that the Bible calls wisdom.
Proverbs 2 says to “incline your ear unto wisdom.” We are also supposed to seek after, call after, treasure, and protect wisdom. These are words that describe an attitude. If I am dismissive of the truth, then any possession or power I have is counterproductive.
Here is the dictator of North Korea. He has nuclear weapons. I don’t know if I would trust him with a pocket knife, yet he has nuclear weapons! Is that a good thing? Is power good? If power is good, then is more power even better? Power is only good if you have the wisdom with which to use it. God is saying here that all the possessions in the world will be wasted if I don’t have the wisdom, the savvy for life, with which to use them. They will either be counterproductive or hurtful, not only to other people, but to myself.
Let me put it this way. Here is a guy without a lick of sense who wins a million dollars in the lottery, and here is a fifteen-year-old kid who has twenty dollars in his pocket but also has some good sense about life. In the long run, who will probably do better and be more successful, even in the arena of money? The answer is the fifteen-year-old who only has twenty dollars, but has a work ethic and some savvy about life. The way we get that savvy for life is to seek God for it. The way we seek God for it is to have an open attitude toward the truth.
So, possessions are not wrong. They are a gift from God along with money, influence, and the very breath we breathe, but we will misuse those gifts unless the first thing we seek and obtain is an open attitude toward God and God’s truth. “Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” The way I reach understanding is by having a right attitude toward the truth.