The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver, The heart of the wicked is worth little. Proverbs 10:20

We are living in a time when people wonder what has any worth?  Recently there was a downgrade of our nation's ability to borrow money.  In addition to this we watch currencies worldwide go through something akin to a rollercoaster ride as they rise and fall.  So again we ask, "What is it that has any true worth?" 

We are told in today's proverb that the tongue of the righteous is like choice silver.  What a wonderfully wealthy thing a godly tongue is to those who hear it.  This man or woman speaks what is right.  That is why he or she is called "righteous."  They know what is right and speak what is right because they fill their mind with what is right.  They know the Scriptures and speak what they say as their advice.  What is this worth?  It is worth choice silver.  The phrase used here describes silver that has been refined many times over so that it is free from any impurities.  That describes the words that come forth from the tongue of the righteous.  They are trustworthy words.  They are ideas and counsel that has been tried in the furnace of affliction and tested over many years.  Therefore they are also words that will stand in any situation.

When we speak of choice silver we need to relate it to situations in today's currency market.  The commodities of gold and silver are skyrocketing in value because they are what is called solid assets.  They are gaining value because of the unsteadiness of paper currency today.  Money printed on paper is called "fiat" money.  It is not worth anything intrinsically.  Unless the government that prints it has sound financial principles as well as true assets to back the paper money, it is not worthy the paper on which it is printed.  Thus, when governments do foolish things like sinking themselves in an endless ocean of debt - their paper money becomes worthless.  It is in times like these that silver and gold will show its true value.  It will stand when all the paper money fails.  So is the speech of the godly, righteous tongue.  Their words will stand when all the theories and ideas of man come crashing to the ground. 

Let's look at why other words are worthless.  The proverb tells us that the tongue of the righteous is as choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is worthy little.  The words of some are worthless because they come from a wicked heart.  This is the heart of one who shuns the grace of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They choose instead to trust themselves.  There is only one problem with this scenario - the heart of the fallen is wicked.  If left to themselves the unsaved will eventually come up with answers to our problems.  Their answers will not involve God - but will turn increasingly to the flesh and the world system for their deliverance.  They will call evil good and good evil in their quest for a self-oriented salvation.  That salvation will only be an empty cistern of powerless promises. 

Oh that God would raise up many in the church who will hold fast to the Scriptures and to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Then and only then will she be able to send into this world an army of silver-tongued saints who can offer this world what it truly needs.  They need the truth.  They need the facts about their sin.  They need the only way a man can stand righteous before a holy God.  They need the gospel of Jesus Christ - and the pure preaching and teaching of the Word of God.  May God turn us from wicked hearts captivated by sin - to the foundry of God where, forged in the daily study of the Word of God under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, we can watch God grant to us "tongues of choice silver."

"I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, to endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. Proverbs 8:20-21 

What is the way to wealth in this world?  Today many would see that wealth and earthly riches are attainable by any means possible.  People do very ungodly things in order to get rich.  Yet from what we see here in today's proverb, wisdom says that she wants to give wealth to those who walk in righteousness and justice.  So which way is it?  The world's way or wisdom's way?

First of all we read in this passage that wisdom walks in a righteous path.  The words used here indicate that wisdom always walks this way.  This is the very lifestyle of wisdom - to embrace and to walk in righteousness.  Therefore we can rightly assume that those who receive the wealth that wisdom endows also walk in this way.  Second, we read that wisdom also walks in the middle of the path of justice.  The idea here is not that wisdom is trying to walk in the middle - meaning that wisdom sees the path of justice as a tightrope - and that walking wise is a difficult path to follow because it involves walking with a balance.  The idea is that there is the road of justice - and wisdom drives right down the middle of it.  Wisdom does not hug to one side or the other of the road, trying to live as close to the edge as possible.  Instead, wisdom drives right down the middle - choosing the right way every time. 

Wisdom walks in this way so that she can offer to men true wealth.  When wisdom says this to us, we need to see that she says that she wants to endow those who love her with wealth.  The picture painted though is not that our eyes are on the wealth.  Our eyes are fixed on wisdom.  It is not money we love - it is wisdom.  The wealth that she gives us is simply an offshoot of living for her.  This is emphasized even further by the next statement made here - "that I may fill their treasuries."  For those fixated on wealth and money - they see money as the goal.  For those whose hearts are right - they see that wisdom herself is filling their treasuries.  The wealth is wisdom and her ways - wisdom and her paths - wisdom and the ability to walk and choose rightly and justly. 

Will wisdom gives us money?  There are times when this is true - when making a wise choice will help us immediately in the bottom line of our finances.  But there are other times when the right and just choice will negatively affect our immediate bottom line.  No matter which one it is - the man who truly walks in wisdom and seeks her and her ways is not fixated on his bank account.  He longs for wisdom herself.  He desires for the wisdom of God to fill the treasuries of his heart and mind all his days.  This is the promise of wisdom - not a greed-motivated desire for a fat wallet, but rather a love-motivated desire for the fullness of the mind of Christ as we make every decision of life. 

"Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness.  My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, And my yield better than choicest silver."  Proverbs 8:18-19

Wisdom is speaking to us about riches, wealth, honor, and righteousness.  We live in a world that thinks it truly understands what it means to be rich and wealthy - yet - from what we read here in Proverbs chapter 8 we will learn that what they are pursuing is not true wealth.  Therefore in case we too are confused on this issue it would be wise for us to examine what is written here - and be wise in this area of true riches and wealth.

I find it fascinating that each time wealth or riches is mentioned, these things are qualified in what is mentioned with them.  First we see that wisdom will bring us riches and honor.  Honor speaks not just of having "fake" honor because you are wealthy.  This kind of sychophantic honor is pitiful to watch.  We see those who fall over themselves to show honor publicly to those who have a lot of money - yet who may secretly curse them when they are not around them.  What Proverbs says is that this rich man also receives honor - but it is true honor due to his wisdom, not due to his having a lot of money.  The second phrase says that he will also have "enduring wealth and righteousness."  The idea of enduring is something hat lasts.  It is durable and not subject to decay or to fading away.  But this kind of wealth is found with those who combine it with "righteousness."  They have wealth, but they also do what is right in life - regardless of what their wealth could purchase.  All these things remind us of what our Lord Jesus Christ said - that we should not work for the riches and wealth that are subject to moth and rust - to decay and to thieves.  We should work for and desire the wealth that will last for all eternity.  That is what this passage is saying to us as well by qualifying both riches and wealth with honor and righteousness. 

Finally, we see in verse 19 that the fruit of wisdom is better than even gold - and the purest gold.  The yield of wisdom far outsurpasses even te choicest of silver as well.  After speaking of wealth and riches - it is as if wisdom is saying to us that the best wealth and the richest thing is wisdom itself. 

From time to time I teach classes on economics to high school students.  One of the principles of economics is that due to the fall of man into sin, there will always be a scarcity of what is desired among men.  We fell from a garden that was perfect and abundant in every way - to a world where we would have to work for our food and sustenance by the sweat of our brow.  Even as we worked hard we would not have a perfect yield because the ground would yield thorns and weeds as we worked it.  Thus the principle for us economically after the fall is that there is a limited amount of riches and wealth on this planet.  Not everyone will be rich and wealthy with this world's goods.  But, by God's grace and through the teaching He offers to us through His Spirit, there is untold riches and wealth when it comes to the wisdom He seeks to teach us.  If we would value that wisdom it could be ours without any limits whatsoever.  There are true riches and enduring wealth available to any man who chooses true honor and righteousness.  What will be your choice this day?

Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it. Proverbs 15:16

More is better.  That is the attitude of the world toward money.  But the Scriptures tell us a different story.  We learn from Proverbs that it is a far better investment to have the fear of the Lord than it is to have treasure without it.  What is interesting to me as I read this particular Proverb today is that the guy who wrote it was arguably the richest man to ever walk the earth.

We read that a little with the fear of the Lord is a good thing.  The fear of God is a proper reverence for God.  It is not a cowering fear that trembles at the thought that God might strike at any moment.  It is a respect and reverence that puts one in their proper place - and in so doing this encourages in them a proper response to God.  This respect for God will bless in far more ways than money.  Since there is a respect for God Himself, there will also be a respect for His Word.  This respect for the Bible leads us to read it and apply it.  That in turn will bring blessings untold over time.  The fear of God also leads one to have a great distaste of displeasing the Lord or disobeying Him.  Therefore the principles that one reads in the Word will be followed with great caution. 

The other option is to get wealth no matter what is at risk.  We read there is "turmoil" that comes with this great treasure.  Turmoil here means to have confusion, panic, tumult, and distrubance.  There are those who have a tremendous amount of money - yet with their riches they also have incredible trouble as well.  Their family is destroyed - relationships are strained - and since what they truly value is money - they have few real friends.  Instead they have sycophants who hang around them because they think they will be receiving something from them at some point in the future. 

Solomon had a heart for God at the beginning of his reign in Jerusalem.  He had wisdom and turned to seek the Lord.  His heart was geared toward pleasing God - and thus it could be said that he feared the Lord.  But Solomon loved many women - way too many women.  They turned his heart as they had him worship their false gods.  Solomon may have been wealthy and may have had anything his heart desired financially, but he was a man filled with turmoil as he grew older.  His desires ran rampant in his heart - and he became a fool who sought only after his own pleasure.  In the end, his kingdom became more and more difficult to maintain - and his son - who followed his ways wound up losing almost all of it.  If you interviewed Solomon at the end of his days, he would have been a man filled with regret - and also filled with a jaded view of things.  That is exactly what we see in the book of Ecclesiastes.  We watch Solomon looking over everything he had and saying that it all was vanity and like striving after wind.  What we learn from his life is exactly what he wrote in this proverb.  It is better to have just a little while fearing God - than having it all and living in a constant turmoil over it.

There is gold, and an abundance of jewels; But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing. Proverbs 20:15

If offered either gold and a bag full of jewels or lips that speak knowledge . . . choose the lips that speak knowledge from God.  In today's world I hear commercials that tout the wisdom of buying gold.  Gold will continue to rise in value and it is a safe investment.  Having gold provides a secure future as the financial markets as well as the monetary ones continue to decline.  But even these things will pass away.  To have knowledge is far more valuable in the end. 

As I write this gold is nearing $1500 an ounce.  Jewels are rising in value as well.  On a recent trip to Israel I visited a diamond cutting and setting facility.  I was shocked as I walked through their gallery and saw how much these precious stones cost.  They had an abundance of these precious stones.  Some items ran almost $100,000 - and most were over $1000 at least.  What an abundance of these jewels in a bag were worth is beyond my imagination.  Yet even compared to what had to be a multi-million dollar inventory of jewels - to have a mouth and lips that speak knowledge is far better. 

The lips of knowledge refer to a man or worman who speaks and acknowledges the wisdom of God.  He usually speaks with reference to the Word of God - accessing it to help prove any kind of point that he is making.  The word for knowledge here is "daath" which refers to knowing by experience, relationship, or encounter.  These are lips that speak of more than just head knowledge and learning.  This one speaks because he has encountered God.  He knows Him personally and as a result of this personal knowledge, has a wisdom and a discernment that comes from knowing the real God versus the lies of this world and the false religions of it.  This is true wealth to God - and should be to us.  Nothing should be more valuable to us than hearing someone who knows and walks with God speak the things that exalt Him in our eyes - as well as the eyes of the world.  Value this above all - for when you have these kind of lips that speak knowledge - or you know someone who does - you are rich indeed.

Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, When he has no sense? Proverbs 17:16

Often fools pay a great deal of money to attain wisdom.  They go to prestigious schools and seek to earn degrees that supposedly garner them respect in the eyes of others in the world.  They will pay ridiculous amounts of money to travel near and far to talk to those who will help them know the meaning of life and the wisdom of the sages down through the years.  But this proverb reveals the real problem in its second part. 

Though the fool were to spend a billion forturnes to attain and buy wisdom, it is not available to him.  He will not grasp wisdom because he has no sense.  The word used for sense here is the Hebrew word, "leb" which means heart.  This is not speaking of his physical heart - even though it is the word used of the physical heart at times. The Hebrews believed that the heart referred to the inner man, the functioning of the mind and will - it is in effect the spirit or very center of the man.  When a man did not have heart, as is referred to here, he was seen as being a man who was dead on the inside.  He had no spiritual life - and no real heart for God or the things of God. 

Here is why the man first is a fool - and second, couldn't get wisdom if he had all the money in the world.  He is dead spiritually - and he is unresponsive to God because of it.  Since the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God - this man has a broken part that unless it is repaired (or in the spiritual sense - reborn) - he will never know wisdom.  Only the man who is alive spiritually will truly know wisdom.  There are many who can gather wise facts and wise sayings until they sound and even seem wise - yet, there is one glaring problem.  They do not know God, and if you do not know God and honor Him, you remain a fool no matter how much information you can spout off or how many wise sayings you can repeat. 

No heart?  No acknowledgement of God?  No hunger for Him and for His Word?  Then you will have no wisdom.  And this is true no matter how much money you can lay out wanting it.

An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. Proverbs 31:10

We begin with this verse our introduction into what many call the Proverbs 31 woman.  This first verse in this section lets us know the women we are going to get to know.  We are also told the worth of such a woman.

The Proverbs 31 woman is called "an excellent wife."  The word "excellent" is the Hebrew word "chayil."  It speaks of someone who has strength, efficiency, capability, power, and substance.  The word, according to Zhodiates, hsa the babsic idea of strength and influence.  The word is used of individual, nations, and even armies.  What is being said here is that this is a strong woman - but her strength is from her character and her godly practices.  That will be apparent as we look further into this section of Scripture in future posts. 

The excellent wife is the wife who is both strong and influential.  When speaking of a woman this word often speaks of a virtuous character.  That is the kind of woman who is an excellent wife.  She is one who has a strength and power that comes from godly character traits.  She draws her strength from her relationship with God - and views her family as the first and foremost place where that strength is spent.  Throughout this section of Scripture we read how she works to bless and build up her family.  The praise she receives in this passage comes primarily from her husband and her children.  This is the praise that she desires. 

Before we are through with this passage we will see this godly lady doing a wide variety of things with her time and her energy.  Chief though in all of them is that she fears the Lord.  Her lifestyle choices therefore are not directed by worldly influences.  They are directed by a desire to glorify and honor God.  If she can accomplish this - she is happy.  She views being a wife and mother as the two highest callings that she could ever receive.  She also views those callings from a biblical vantage point.  That means, to put it bluntly, that she is not influenced by the National Organization of Women - or any other organization that views femininity with suspicion. 

Such a woman, according to Proverbs, has a worth far above jewels.  Her worth to her husband is incalculable - even though some well-meaning folks have tried to figure out how much we would pay to have someone do what a stay at home mother does.  The cost of that estimate was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  But what we cannot figure into any monetary value is the stability and the grace that a godly wife brings to her family.  We also cannot imagine the costs that would be incurred to future generations if that godly influence were not in the home.  Godly wives are a blessing as well spiritually (in fact that is where their greatest value is seen) which is something we cannot rate in dollars and cents.  Suffice it to say that a godly wife and mother is worthy far more than any army of accountants could figure out in the end.  If you have one - as either a wife or a mom - you should be eternally grateful!

Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, But the one who gathers by labor increases it. Proverbs 13:11

At times it amazes me how much can be found on business and finances within the book of Proverbs.  There is enough counsel on business decisions and how we handle money to guide us throughout our entire lifetimes.  That is why admonitions like the one today are such a blessing to us if we will heed what is said to us by them. 

Today's proverb counsels us as to the proper way to obtain wealth.  There are many in our day (and actually at any time in history) who are looking for a "get-rich-quick scheme."  They want to obtain wealth any way that they can - and do not realize that to sell our soul or our integrity for any amount of wealth is far too high a price to pay to become rich.  That is the warning that is given to us today in Proverbs.

When we obtain wealth by fraud - we are going to face problems and difficulties in maintaining that wealth.  The word fraud here is the Hebrew word "hebel" and it refers to soemthing that is vain and empty.  It refers to a person's character when it is empty of character - or when the character is fleeting and easily changed.  It also has the idea of being evil as well.  When we seek wealth but do so by being ungodly - we are on the wrong track.

The warning here is that when we get wealth by this kind of fraud, it will dwindle.  It will dwindle first of all because God's blessing will not be upon it.  God is sovereign over the affairs of mankind, and when we go outside what He says and commands, His blessing will be absent from our lives.  There may be wealth to be had on the front end of godless business practices - but the latter end of these men will see a dwindling of their wealth.  What is interesting is how their wealth may dwindle.  One way it dwindles is by others having the same ungodly, fraudulent business practices that eventually takes their money.  The saying, what comes around goes around is the rule here.  The Bible puts it this way, if we sow the wind, we will reap the whirlwind.  Act ungodly in securing your own riches - someone may use the same ungodly tactics on you later in life.  The second way that wealth may dwindle later in life is through children that have no sense at all when it comes to finances.  Solomon wrote these words about this dwindling of our wealth and riches. 

"Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity."  (Ecclesiastes 2:18-19, NASB)  Some men spend a lifetime gathering wealth by fraud - only to have a son or daughter live foolishly and destroy a fortune left to them.  This is because that child has watched a corrupt father gather millions - and in the process the true riches of that child's character are ruined.  They not only inherit the riches - but also the fatal flaws in their father's actions.  The third way that these riches dwindle is by the man's ability to enjoy them later in life.  The older we get, the less we can enjoy the things of this world.  Our taste buds go - our health goes - and our agility and strength go as well.  So, whether God's judgment and discipline come immediately - or just through the course of life itself - wealth obtained wrongly will dwindle in the end.  And this says nothing of eternity - where fraudulent wealth will disappear altogether as a man loses everything. 

Consider the rich farmer who tore down his old barns to build new ones - thinking that his life indeed only consisted of his possessions.  He was not rich toward God - and faced the loss of everything - most importantly his very soul as he burned in hell for all eternity for his focus on the wrong kind of wealth. 

The promise of this proverb is that if we gather wealth by labor - we will increase.  That is an aspect of his proverb that we need to see clearly.  The translation says that we increase "it" - referring to our wealth.  But the it is not actually in the text.  The phrase says that when we gather wealth by labor - we increase - not just our wealth - but our entire being.  God grows us as we learn to work hard and labor at what pleases and honors Him.

Another aspect of this proverb is that we are to gather wealth gradually - working for it at every turn.  We are warned elsewhere in Proverbs that an inheritance gained quickly - will most likely be wasted.  The prodigal son got his inheritance quickly from his father - but he wasted it on immoral living and wound up eating with the pigs in a foreign land.  There is something to be said to having wealth come slowly by surely by labor and by effort.  There is a promised increase - a blessing that comes as we work hard and appreciate what blessing God has given to us. 

Beware of gaining wealth the wrong way - fraudulently.  It will not give us the true riches that God desires for us to have.  These come by hard work and effort.  This kind of wealth will bring us great blessing in the end.  May God help us to see this kind of wealth - and have a heart to covet it rather than wealth that will harm us instead.

A rich man's wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination. Proverbs 18:11

There is something about wealth and riches that make men think that they are insulated from things normal men have to endure.  They often use their money to avoid the troubles of the average man.  Some pay bribes to officials so that they and their family do not have to be arrested or pay for tickets that have been given to them.  But this is only deception.  God will bring down the high wall and the fortress in which they put their trust. 

There was such a man in the New Testament.  In Luke chapter 12 we read about a rich man whose land was very productive.  When a bumper crop came in, he wondered to himself what he should do with it.  His decision was one that consisted of trusting in riches for his future.  He decided to tear down his existing barns and build bigger ones to store all his food for himself.  He truly saw his wealth as a strong city and a high wall behind which he could be safe.  His imagination told him that when he gathered up all his wealth he would be protected and kept from the normal problems and indignities men usually faced.  It was a nice illusion while it lasted.  Problem was for him that it only lasted less than one hour. 

God came to this safe and secure rich man and demanded of his his soul that very hour.  God came to him and revealed to him the foolishness of his choices.  He might have imagined that his money was his real future - but he forgot the one enemy money cannot buy off in the end.  Death was coming to him - his soul was required of him - and there was absolutely nothing that his accumulated wealth could do for him in that moment.  He did not choose to be "rich toward God," and in the end it cost him everything.  Safety in wealth is just a bad illusion.  The only safe place is in the center of God's will.  We may think that our savings will protect us - but the only secure place to store up treasure is in heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt and thieves cannot break in and steal. 

You may think that your riches provide safety for you - but that is only your foolish imagination.  It is only the lie of the devil and the siren song of the world that would lure you in to destroy you on the rocks of death and the grave.  The only safe place is under the blood of Jesus.  The only true wealth is the wealth that is stored up through our good works done in the name of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.  All other wealth and safety are the epitome of illusory lies.  They will disappear before your eyes at death just as the promising mirage of an oasis disappears before the dreaming eyes of the man who is dying of thirst in the desert. 

For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. Proverbs 3:14-15

In determining the value of something people often turn to how what they are valuing compares with other things we know are of great worth.  That is what Proverbs does today in seeking to help us grasp just how valuable wisdom is to us every day.

There is a profit to wisdom - a payoff.  When we learn to live lives that ask what the wise thing we should do - we will receive the rewards that wisdom has to offer to us.  Then the comparisons begin in our passage.  Wisdom has a greater profit than silver - and a better gain than gold.  I'm writing this in 2010 and those who made a decision just a couple of years ago to purchase silver and gold know what kind of profit they got from it.  They know that our federal government has played fast and loose with monetary policy and our economic position has suffered because of it.  Our paper money has lost its value as the government continues to spend at a rate that cannot be maintained.  Thus our money is being deflated as they print more to spend more - without anything to back it.  But gold and silver are commodities that have real value to them.  Thus while our paper money is floudering - gold has almost doubled in price.  Silver is not far behind - because they have real value.  There is something else that has real value - wisdom.  When we have it - we will find amazing profit in keeping wisdom and following hard after wisdom. 

Wisdom is also more precious than jewels.  These are ornamental jewels like rubies, diamonds, sapphires, and other valuable jewels.  Once again these items are rare - and are considered to be worth something.  But what Proverbs is saying to us is that wisdom is more "precious" than jewels.  Here we are not talking about profit as with silver and gold, but we are talking about how something it valuable to us.  Wisdom is personally valuable to us.  We know that if we wear wisdom in our lives - people will notice.  Just like a woman with a large diamond hung around her neck is noticed, so also is the man or worman who lives wisely noticed.  The jewels are considered beautiful - even though they are only rare hunks of rock.  Wisdom adorns us with God's character, with godliness, with a holy life - and are the most beautiful things that we can have because they last long after the physical jewels of this life are gone.