What Is Wisdom?Sample

What to Buy

Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. (Prov. 23:23)

I happened to be browsing in a jewelry store one day while my wife was getting a new battery to put in her watch. A nicely dressed salesman politely asked if there was something I was interested in. Looking at all the glitter and sparkle in the display cases, I smiled and said that we had reached a point in our lives where we really didn’t need or want to buy any more gifts for ourselves. The salesman smiled back and said, “I understand.”

There is one thing we all should buy, though. As John Bunyan’s pilgrims, Christian and Hopeful, replied when asked what they wished to buy in Vanity Fair, “We buy the truth” (The Pilgrim’s Progress, pt. 1).

However, these days, the notion of “truth” has become controversial. The truth can be elusive depending on where you get your news and information. What are we supposed to believe? Whom should we listen to? The government? The media (which ones)? Our Facebook feed? The guy who tweets links to alarming stories and videos? How about listening to Jesus? “I am . . . the truth” (John 14:6). Or this: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). We buy truth—and wisdom—when we believe in Jesus, the Son of God, Savior of the world, and Lord of our lives. He sets free from sin and death and excessive fear about the future.

As you pray, thank God for our eternal security in Christ.