I’d Rather Have Wisdom than Silver or Gold

Solomon moves from our vertical relationship with Yahweh (v. 26) to our horizontal relationships with others. Wisdom teaches that if your vertical relationship with the Lord is right your other relationships will be right in everyday life. One practical example of keeping this wisdom as Solomon has exhorted is being a good neighbor. You are not wise or in a right relationship with the Lord if you’re not a good neighbor. If you love God, you will love your neighbor.

Solomon first mentions two sins of omission (failing to do good), and then he mentions two sins of commission (doing something bad). Solomon says to not withhold good from those to whom it’s due when it is in your power to do it (v. 27). This refers to giving something good to someone who deserves it or needs it when you have the means. This could be giving a fair wage or money to a person in need. This could be a meal, clothes, a tool your neighbor is lacking, or some other physical aid. The wise are attentive to the needs of their community. They are the neighbors everyone wants to have.

There was a communal life in the Old Testament, where the people of Israel were called to care for each other’s property. This is true in the body of Christ as well. First John 3:17-18 says,

If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and intruth.

Proverbs 3:28 fleshes this out. Don’t delay in doing good if you have the means. Don’t put it off because you’re lazy, and then forget. Don’t put it off because you are indifferent or selfish. Don’t just try to get rid of the person with an excuse like, “I don’t have any cash on me.” Right then, go the extra mile to meet the need. Failing to do good to your neighbor when it is in your power is foolish and wicked. It is sin.

Solomon moves from failing to do good to actively doing evil. Don’t plan evil against your neighbor who lives trustingly beside you (v. 29). Don’t accuse your neighbor without reason if they haven’t wronged you (v. 30). This can refer to a false accusation for gain. You accuse them out of jealousy, or you do so in order to get something that belongs to them. Solomon acknowledges that it’s OK to seek justice if there is an appropriate cause. You may have to take a neighbor to court to stop some injustice against your family, but you don’t do it out of spite or to get even with them. And Paul makes clear that within the body of Christ this is not appropriate at all (1 Cor 6).

Finally, Solomon exhorts his son not to envy the violent person who seems to prosper because of his schemes. There are times when it looks like following Wisdom—following Jesus—doesn’t work like we think it should, and following the ways of evil can lead to short-term success. I mentored a guy several years back who was distraught when he came to meet me for breakfast. I asked him what was wrong, and he told me that a guy he worked with came into work cursing because he had accidentally gotten his girlfriend pregnant. This crushed my friend because he and his wife had begged God for a baby and it wasn’t happening for them, but this guy was sinning and got a baby that he didn’t want! There are times in this fallen world when it may look like the path of sin is the path to getting what we want. Solomon acknowledges that some people do use their power to manipulate and abuse others to get what they want, and they get it. You might be tempted to jealousy and to adopting their ways when you see their success. Solomon pleads with his son not to envy these people because in the end the tables will turn. In the end, they lose.

Judgment will fall. God opposes these people, so they will not prosper forever. And God is for you if you belong to his Son; and that means even if you don’t prosper right now, you will later. Yes, there’s an order to the world where things work out in a certain way. Yes, in a fallen world it doesn’t always work out immediately. But God stands behind the order upholding it, and he will call for a reckoning on the last day. There will be a judgment. When the order works out in the here and now, when fools are struck with poverty, lose their family, or irreparably damage their reputation, that is merely a foretaste of the ultimate reckoning they will receive on the last day. And when the wise have plenty, a happy family, and a good standing in the community, that also is merely a foretaste of the glory to come. But even if these things don’t work out immediately, God will see to it that they do in the end.

Wisdom has its rewards, and Solomon holds them out to his son as a motivation to get wisdom. If you believe that Wisdom—Jesus—can make good on these rewards, then you will walk in these ways. The devious person—the person who goes against the created order—is detestable to Yahweh (3:32). And judgment will fall on you if you do not follow the golden rule to do unto others as you want them to do unto you. Solomon says there’s a curse on the house of the wicked but blessing on the house of the righteous (v. 33). This encourages and warns us that our actions affect more than just us. The sins of the parents will affect the children, and the righteousness of parents trying their best to walk after Jesus will affect them positively. This is language from Deuteronomy 27–30. There is a choice between blessing (life) and curses (death) in obedience and disobedience. There is a choice between honor and dishonor here (Prov 3:34-35). Don’t mock or you’ll be mocked. Humble yourself to receive grace from the Lord.

Jesus is the Wisdom of God, but he’s also the wise son of Proverbs who humbled himself, took on the curse for us, and offers us the blessings of wisdom. He truly is more precious than silver, more costly than gold, and more beautiful than diamonds. As George Beverly Shea used to sing,

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;

I’d rather be His than have riches untold;

I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands.

I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Than to be the king of a vast domain

Or be held in sin’s dread sway.

I’d rather have Jesus than anything

This world affords today.

(Rhea F. Miller, “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” 1922)

Yes, riches can be great, long life is something we all hope for, having a good reputation is precious, being able to sleep in peace at night is priceless, but Jesus is better than any and all of these things. Seek him above all of these, and you might just find that he adds these other things to you in the process.