Priority #1 — Get Wisdom! (Proverbs 4:5)
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Proverbs 4:5
Get wisdom; get insight;
do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
We are told and encouraged to pursue and chase after many things as we grow up in the world. Get wealth, chase your wildest dreams, pursue acclaim and status – we could go on and on. But the encouragement of this parent – of Solomon, the wisest man outside of Jesus to ever live – was none of those things. His message to his children was to get wisdom; get insight. That was the chief thing. The principal thing.
Solomon is encouraging us to get wisdom at all costs here, and when we have it, we ought to ‘not forget’ it, to keep it with all our keeping, and to not ‘turn away’ from his words.
In other words, this verse is a lesson of principle and priority.
We should prioritize wisdom; we should prioritize Jesus over all things. He should be our chief pursuit above all things.
Wealth, dreams, acclaim – to an extent, those can all be good things, but they should never be THE thing. THE thing to be gotten and kept is Jesus. It’s Him. That’s what Solomon is telling us.
This verse reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 when He encourages us in verse 33 to ‘...seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness’, trusting that all other things will be added to us.
Prioritize Christ. Seek Him first. Seek Him always. Get wisdom, get insight. Get it with all your getting. And do not forget Christ; do not turn away from His Word. Always abound and abide in the Word of the Lord. That’s what this verse is telling us to do.
So are we doing that? Consider this verse a means to check your priorities. Reflect on your day and ask yourself:
‘Does my schedule reflect and reveal Christ to be my top priority?’ ‘My chief pursuit?’
If a stranger looked at your calendar for the past week, what would they say your top pursuit is?
Let’s pray that He would be just that – our top pursuit – today.
