Old Testament Genesis 30:1-31:16
New Testament Matthew 10:1-25
Psalm 12:1-8
Proverbs 3:13-15
#blessed
Last night there where millions of people who were hoping to be blessed by winning the largest Powerball pay out in history. The payout was somewhere north of 1 Billion dollars. That would be a lot of money for millions of companies let alone an individual. A very popular hashtag used on social media was #blessed. Millions where fantasizing about what life would look like where money was no longer restricting their deepest longings, desires, and wants. From a biblical worldview that sounds like a recipe for disaster. Apparently, there are three winners from California, Tennessee, and Florida according to lottery officials. We will soon meet those “lucky” winners on our media screens. Time will show how they live out their new #blessed life.
There is another #blessed life according to today’s Proverbs reading.
Proverbs 3:13–15 13
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, 14
for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. 15
She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Throughout the proverbs there are three sister traits which are held together and worthy of pursuit. In these verse we find two, wisdom and understanding. The one not mentioned is knowledge. These three traits are what provide a truly #blessed life. It is interesting how different these are with respect to winning a lottery. None of these traits can be won in an instant. It requires discipline, hard work, and time. These traits are to be prized over “gain from silver” their profit is “better than gold.”
Unfortunately, those who become millionaires overnight do not also gain godly wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. These three traits are far better than large weekly bank deposits with many zero’s. Think about how difficult the new #blessed life will be for those winners who do not have godly wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. There is no doubt their lives had difficulty and hardships prior to winning, but now there awaits millions of new difficulties and hardship in areas they never could have imagined.
The truly #blessed life comes from wisdom, understanding, and knowledge according to the scriptures, but these are not something you can purchase at your local convenience store.