PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold” (Proverbs 8:10 KJV).

He is not saying here that we should throw our silver away, he is saying that silver and gold are not near as important as wisdom and instruction. With knowledge and instruction, a man can get saved and go to heaven. With those he might even earn a lot of silver and gold and make a fair living in this world, but those things alone will not purchase you a ticket to heaven. If a man is faithful and willing to use riches for God’s purpose—God may give him riches: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate” (I Timothy 6:17-18 KJV).

The problem with some Christians is that they are not “ready to distribute,” they pray for a million bucks and they don’t plan to give much of it back to God—so God isn’t going to give them much to begin with. If a Christian is on poverty level, that is probably just where they belong and where they need to be to stay humble and to stay in the will of God. We need to remember that riches can get us out of the will of God pretty quick.

“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain” (Proverbs 30:8-9 KJV).

If you got all that money suddenly you might discover that you don’t have the character to handle it. You might schedule the first trip available to the Bahamas and not give any to the missionary that needs it to go win some souls to Christ or build a local New Testament church or to expand the work of an already established New Testament church.

There is a reason a lot of Christians are poor; they couldn’t be trusted if they were rich. We might not see them again.

“Receive my instruction,” which is a key element in folks getting saved. “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (I Thessalonians 2:13 KJV).

They didn’t think it was just a good translation, they thought it was “the word of God!” In chapter 1 Paul said, “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost” (I Thessalonians 1:6 KJV).

These people didn’t argue with it, doubt it, change it, revise it, add to it or take away from it—they received it. They didn’t try to justify their sins by fooling with it, they said, “It’s the word of God and we will believe it!”

“Receive my instruction, and not silver,” you have the ability according to I Corinthians 2:15, “He that is spiritual judgeth all things,” with the Holy Spirit of God you have the ability to receive and to understand the word of God. “knowledge rather than choice gold,” come and but the truth Isaiah 55 says, “without money and without price.” A man can’t buy real godly wisdom. There is not an unsaved man in this whole world that has enough money to offer God to get wisdom. He has to come like everybody else and get down on his knees and trust Jesus Christ—then put his nose in the book and seek for it. He needs to pray and go to church.

Folks can buy an education, but no one can buy wisdom, folks are “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (II Timothy 3:7).

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