Is Christianity Worth It?

Is wisdom worth it? What are the benefits of wisdom? Apart from the promise of eternal life at the end, what good will it do me? How will it help me here and now? To put it more popularly, is it all “pie in the sky when you die” or is there also “steak on the plate while you wait”? Do you just have to put up with pain on earth to eventually get pleasure in heaven?

Solomon begins his wisdom curriculum by encouraging us with multiple motives to pursue wisdom here and now. The early chapters of Proverbs are especially focused on why wisdom is worth it, not only for future rewards but because of present rewards. For example, Proverbs 2 provides multiple motivations for wisdom’s morals.

Study Wisdom Like a Treasure Hunter (2:1–4)

Proverbs 2:1–4 presents wisdom as God’s treasure to motivate us to seek its value and beauty above everything else. Note the intense words used to describe how we are to look for wisdom: apply your ear, incline your heart, call out for understanding, seek it, search for it. These are extremely active words, words full of energy, enthusiasm, focus, determination, and passion.

Have you ever seen Gold Rush on the Discovery Channel? It follows small groups of men who work in some of the most hostile terrain in the Yukon to try to find gold. The amount of work required is extraordinary, especially when you see how little all the hours, tears, talents, and stresses actually produce. May God give us the same spirit and create a “Wisdom Rush” among us. Imagine what we might discover if we took this attitude to our daily Bible reading, to our church attendance, and to our family worship.

Wisdom is given to miners not the mindless.

That sounds like a lot of hard work. Why should I put so much into it?

Study Wisdom for Moral Benefits (2:5–21)

Now we come to the payoff. Here’s why you should study God’s wisdom so strenuously and seriously. There are moral rewards and benefits. If we have a gold-rush spirit (2:1–4), then we will find gold rewards.

We’ll get a greater awe of God. “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord” (2:5). If we commit to this course of study with gold-rush zeal, we will experience greater awe of God. If we dig for wisdom, we will encounter the awesomeness of God and experience that astonishing, stunning, incredible, wonderful, thrilling presence of God. A gold-rush spirit makes for an awestruck student.

We’ll get better theology. “Then you will . . . find the knowledge of God” (2:5). If we seek wisdom like treasure hunters, we will become better theologians. We will know God better. A gold-rush spirit produces gold-standard theology.

We’ll get better judgment. “. . . guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path” (2:8–9). Study of God’s wisdom will shield, guard, guide, and preserve us when it comes to making judgments about people and situations. A gold-rush spirit produces justice and fairness for all.

We’ll get greater safety. A gold-rush spirit will deliver us from wicked men (2:10–15) and wicked women (2:16–19). We will be given courage to resist the pressure of bullies and discernment to resist the seductions of tempters. A gold-rush spirit will be a titanium shield.

Moral benefits follow wisdom as surely as moral evils follow folly.

Changing Our Story with God’s Story

Is Christianity worth it? Yes, yes, and yes. It’s not only “pie in the sky when you die”; it’s also “steak on the plate while you wait.” The steak is greater awe, better theology, better decisions, and greater safety. If you think this is a bit carnal, then you are more spiritual than Jesus, the wisdom of God, who motivated seeking him with many rewards (Matt. 7:7–11; 11:28; John 14:15–21).

Summary: Is wisdom worth it? Motivate gold-rush study in Wisdom University with the present gold rewards.

Question: Which of these motives is most persuasive to you?

Prayer: Golden God, give me a gold-rush spirit so that I can enjoy gold rewards.