God’s economy is not our economy. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts.
This might sound obvious enough to some, but if I’m really honest, these are the very truths that God has been reminding me of lately and teaching me again. Jesus repeatedly went against the grain of the culture in which He lived, and His teachings were no different. Just to name a few from His sermon on the mount…
Blessed are the persecuted. (Matthew 5:10)
Hate = Murder (Matthew 5:22)
Lust = Adultery (Matthew 5:28)
Love your enemies. (Matthew 5:44)
If you don’t forgive, you won’t be forgiven. (Matthew 6:15)
Don’t store up treasures here on earth. (Matthew 6:19)
These only scratch the surface of all of His teachings, and the truth and wisdom found in the book of Proverbs is no less counter-cultural. We live in a world that shouts its priorities at us all of the time, and it requires intentionality on our part to live differently. We are called to a higher standard of living, God’s standard, but if we’re not careful, even the best of us with the purest of intentions can easily trade God’s way for this world’s way.
Proverbs 4 is all about a father giving wise instruction to his son. In short, he says to him, “Do you want to live the good life? Then, get wisdom!” The urgency of his words in this chapter cause the reader to lean into his words. And why? Because he also describes the blessings that will come into your life if you pursue wisdom and “prize her highly.” (Proverbs 4:8)
The good life described here in chapter 4 simply cannot be found outside of Jesus Christ. The pursuit of riches, fame, power, prestige…all will come up empty in the end. All of the ladders we keep climbing in this life in pursuit of what this world would define as the good life…when we come to end of our own life, we will sadly find that those ladders are all leaning against the wrong wall.
Do you want to live the good life? Get wisdom!
“Get wisdom; get insight;
do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.” Proverbs 4:5
“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
and whatever you get, get insight.” Proverbs 4:7
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