In Your Bible Read This Out Loud: Proverbs 2:1-11 

Memorise This Verse: Proverbs 4:7 ‘Wisdom is supreme therefore get wisdom’ 

Afterwards Talk About This: How do we obtain the right wisdom to handle our finances 

Something To Do Before Next Time:  Read James 1:5 and ask God to give you wisdom in your financial dealings 

Written Diploma Work:  Write one page on wise and unwise ways that a Christian can handle his money 

Meditate Word By Word On This Verse:  Proverbs 16:16

A further safeguard to prosperity that the bible reveals is the great need to have wisdom to know how to use and invest and spend the money that God wants to put into our hands. In this section we will draw a lot from the book of Proverbs, which was mainly written by a very unusual character from the bible – namely King Solomon. Solomon has the fantastic legacy of being the wisest person in the world of this time and also being the richest man that ever lived (see for yourself in 2 Chronicles chapter 1). Consequently, there can be few people better to speak about wisdom and financial dealings than Solomon, and in the book of Proverbs he elaborates many truths for us. 

Proverbs 4:7 says ‘Wisdom is supreme therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding’ the bible therefore says that before we seek anything in life we should seek wisdom and God’s view on it. This is most certainly true in our finances – money is like a wild animal that needs to be tamed – we need God’s wisdom to know how to handle it and to prevent it from ruining our relationship with God. Perhaps you are quite rightly seeking the very best for your life and to see God intervene in your finances, but have you also sought out his wisdom to know how to handle and to administer money? 

The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about wisdom and one of the most startling insights is that as shown below wisdom should be valued much more than we value money. This is a truth that is a very large slap in the face to many Christians who have made the blessings of God almost an idol in their lives and are only concerned about getting rich quick and give no thought about how to use money. Which do you value most  – wisdom or money?  

God wants us to have both but the order of things should be wisdom and then money (not money first and then wisdom when the bank account is full!). Just look at how the bible rates and values wisdom far above money, gold, silver or precious stones. 

Proverbs 2:3 ‘Call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as silver and search for it as hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God’

Proverbs 3:13 ‘Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies nothing you desire can compare with her’ 

Proverbs 16:16 ‘How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver.’ 

Which do you value most knowing how to receive God’s blessings into your life or knowing how to handle and steward the blessings?. The wonderful promise of the book of Proverbs is that if we seek wisdom above all things (including money) then by doing so we will be blessed and prospered of God because we have got our priorities right. Wisdom is actually personified as a prudent lady in the book of Proverbs who speaks and instructs the people of God – she declares that as we seek her and her wisdom before all things, she will bestow on us wealth and honor. 

Proverbs 3:16 ‘Long life is in her right hand in her left hand are riches and honour’ 

Proverbs 8:18 ‘I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honour, enduring wealth and prosperity’  

This principle is exactly what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6:33 when he said ‘Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’.  

Consequently, if you want to enter into the good things of God then seek God and his Kingdom and his wisdom above all things seek God before the blessings of God and as you do so, the blessings of God will come up on. Ask God for his very best for your life, seek him for all the blessings he has for you, but seek also the wisdom of God to know how to handle them for wisdom is of greater value than money. 

King Solomon is best example in the bible of someone who got his priorities straight and sought wisdom and as a result the blessings of God came upon him. In 1 Kings 3:5 we see Solomon as he starts his reign as King over Israel and when he meets God in a dream he asks for wisdom to rule diligently, no mention or request is made for money. His request delights the Lord and due to the fact that Solomon put God and his wisdom first, he gives Solomon not only wisdom but also riches. 

1 Kings 3:11 says, ‘Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for – both riches and honour – so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among Kings’  

Finally, we see in Psalm 49:20 the terrible warning that the bible gives about those who have money but do not have the wisdom or spiritual maturity to handle it, ‘A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish’. Perhaps one of the best prayers that we can ever pray for our lives is to have wisdom in all that we do, and to know the exact will of God in our circumstances. In light of the warnings and safeguards mentioned in the bible about having wisdom to handle our money, we should be constantly seeking God to direct our financial affairs. 

When was the last time you prayed about which car you should buy or which house or holiday? have you prayed even about small purchases or do you spend money on what you want when you want. It has been argued that if you are going to make a major purchase then commit it to God in prayer 1 week before you intend to buy it and give God that time to give you his confirming peace that you are in his will.

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