The Principal Thing

An angel appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom, or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom.

“Done!” says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers, “Say something.”

The dean looks at them and says, “I should have taken the money.”

Interesting retelling of the King Solomon story. While I chuckled at it, it is so far from the truth and illustrative of the lies of Satan and the worldly wisdom he has inserted into our thinking. Of course we know that professor would take wisdom over wealth...that’s a given. But there is something in all of us that still says, “I’d rather be rich.”

But being handed riches produces nothing positive. Psychology researcher Dan Gilbert points to a study that says lottery winners have the same level of happiness a year after winning the lottery as do paraplegics a year after losing the use of their limbs. It doesn’t make sense. All of us would chose the lottery over a debilitating accident. Yet research shows that it makes no one any happier.

I know what you are thinking...you’d love to prove the research wrong.

Wisdom on the other hand, is the ability to squeeze the most out of life with what you’ve been given. It isn’t necessarily intelligence. Some very intelligent people are also very foolish. But it’s using all of God’s gifts, including your mental and emotional faculties, for the purpose they were given to you, and thereby making the most out of life.

Theologian J. I. Packer put it this way, “Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.”

Are you pursuing the wisdom of God above all else? Are you looking to see all of life from His perspective? That’s what will enable you to squeeze every bit of value from life.

Wisdom impacts the immediate to the eternal. It outweighs wealth, beauty, and everything else that is temporary.

It’s the belt of truth that Paul said we are to be wrapped in. It is revealed in God’s Word and is unleashed when we apply that Word to our lives, our circumstances, and our relationships.

What are you in pursuit of at this point in your life? Career? Family? Financial security? Friendships? If wisdom is not at the top of your list, reorder your list!

“Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7 NKJV).