Wisdom’s Worth

One way to describe my family—that is my dad, mom, my sister Mandie, and me, is that we’re a band of amateur geologists. For me, it started when I was about 9 years old in Paris, Maine. It was our first time rock mining. Paris, Maine is mineral rich place and what we found astounded us. Along the hiking trails, when we smashed rocks with our hammers, we would find quartz of every shade, deep red garnet crystals, amethyst, pyrite cubes, slabs of mic schist, green tourmaline, and so much more. We gathered these treasures into buckets and hauled them back to our hotel room, comparing them in awe at what we had discovered. For me, it was the beginning of a long love of rocks and minerals. Not something you’d know about me from observation—I gave away all of my rocks over 20 years ago. But I have a deep appreciation for the beauty of God’s creation displayed in gems and crystals.

Throughout history, people have treasured gems and crystals risking their lives to secure great wealth by possessing them. Interestingly, the Job the sufferer dedicates a chapter describing man’s obsessions with silver, gold, and previous gems. Here it is:

“Surely there is a mine for silver,
    and a place for gold that they refine.
 Iron is taken out of the earth,
    and copper is smelted from the ore.
 Man puts an end to darkness
    and searches out to the farthest limit
    the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
 He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;
    they are forgotten by travelers;
    they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.
 As for the earth, out of it comes bread,
    but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
 Its stones are the place of sapphires,
    and it has dust of gold.

 “That path no bird of prey knows,
    and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
 The proud beasts have not trodden it;
    the lion has not passed over it.

 “Man puts his hand to the flinty rock
    and overturns mountains by the roots.
 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
    and his eye sees every precious thing.
 He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
    and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

 “But where shall wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?
 Man does not know its worth,
    and it is not found in the land of the living.
 The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
 It cannot be bought for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
    in precious onyx or sapphire.
 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above pearls.
 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.

 “From where, then, does wisdom come?
    And where is the place of understanding?
 It is hidden from the eyes of all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
 Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

 “God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
 For he looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
 When he gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
 when he made a decree for the rain
    and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.
 And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

The Proverbs and Job taken together say that wisdom, which is far more precious than sapphires and rubies, is found in the fear of the Lord. And so it follows that to fear God—to hallow his name, to trust Him, and walk in his ways—it is of infinitely greater worth than the Hope Diamond or all the combined treasures that could be found buried in the heart of the earth. All of the metallic minerals, the gems, crystals, the most precious stones are made of dust and to dust they shall be reckoned when the fallen earth and its elements are destroyed by fire on That Day as 2 Peter informs us. But the wisdom of God revealed to us in Christ will never perish, spoil, or fade. What are we after? What are you after? Search diligently for wisdom by beholding a God of glory. There is no greater pursuit on this earth than pursuing the One who pursued you.