Proverbs 16:16-21

Proverbs 16:16-21
English Standard Version
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold!
    To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
17 The highway of the upright turns aside from evil;
    whoever guards his way preserves his life.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
    and a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
    than to divide the spoil with the proud.
20 Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good,
    and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
21 The wise of heart is called discerning,
    and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.

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Once again, we see that wisdom is to be valued above gold--even much fine gold.  Understanding is to be valued above the choicest of silver.  Those who have wisdom and money will know how to use the money that has been entrusted to them correctly.  The one who lacks money, but has wisdom will know how to live within his means and work for his wages, but the one who has money without wisdom will quickly end up with neither as he will foolishly spend that which is in his possession to try to buy things that money can never buy you--happiness, peace, security and contentment, just to name a few.

There are only two paths to walk--the highway of the righteous or the path of destruction that the wicked are on.  Those on the highway of the righteous clearly read the warning signs, stay within the guardrails of the Law and turn away from evil.  A man who obeys God is rewarded with preservation of his own life (both now while the LORD has good work for him to do and ultimately with the everlasting life that the LORD bestows on those who belong to Him).  Not so for the proud who walk in the ways of their father the devil.  The road they are on leads to destruction, both here and now and for all eternity.  God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Pride is an abomination to the LORD, and it will lead to destruction because the proud person refuses to call on the LORD for help and refuses to give glory to the LORD, as the proud man seeks their own glory instead of the glory of God.

It is better to be humble and be content with a few things than to be proud and rich.  That doesn't jive with worldly wisdom, but that is what God has been telling us by His wisdom that He imparted to Solomon all throughout this book of Wisdom literature.  The one who is humble has the LORD as his portion forever.  That is more than enough!  The one who is proud and rich will never be satisfied.

We are also to give much thought to the Word of God and meditate on it day and night.  We should learn to trust the Word of the LORD and rely completely on Him for all of our needs including provision and protection.  Through the wisdom of His Word, the LORD will add discernment to those who are wise so that they are able, by His Spirit, to know the paths of righteousness that they should follow.  He also gives the wise the ability to control their tongue.  He puts His words in their mouths and causes their arguments they make to be persuasive as they are arguing in accordance with the LORD's Word, revealed will, and His nature, character, and Law.