Church of England Magazine Proverbs 16:16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!… A few years ago the news of gold in California spread like wildfire all over the country. Everybody wanted to go and get some. The storekeeper shut up his shop and went. The mason threw down his trowel and went. The farmer left his crops, and the shoemaker his last, and hurried off to the land of gold. The excitement was so great that it was called the "gold fever." Good as that getting was thought to be, there is something better to get, better than a whole gold-mine. Why is it so much better? 1. You cannot be robbed of it. Wisdom cannot be stolen. Neither can fire burn it, or water drown it. Locusts cannot eat it, or blight or mildew harm it. Bad times cannot damage its value, or bad partners gamble it away. You may sail round the world, and not leave it behind. You may be shipwrecked, and not lose it. You may be put in prison and carry it with you. It is not too rich for a cottage, or too poor for a palace. Sickness does not cheapen its worth, or health add to it. Nothing robs it of its value. Times and seasons, which alter everything else, make no alteration in this. 2. Wisdom is better than gold, because it pays better. "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." It says in keeping God's commands there is "great reward." Yes, wisdom yields a greater profit, a better gain, than gold or silver. Can gold buy the pardon of sin? Can it get you peace and happiness? Can it secure to you room in heaven? No, gold cannot purchase these; and these are what you want. When Mr. Astor had acquired his large property, and was called the richest man in the country, "I wish," he said, "I could go back to a poor boy, and make it all over again." The possession of it did not make him happy. Gold does not satisfy. (Church of England Magazine.) Parallel Verses KJV: How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! |
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