Nothing You Desire Can Compare
Image credit: @quesialanger
A Cheeky Proverb
It’s quite a superlative statement. Some may respond to it with skepticism, or dismiss it as hyperbole. Others may fail to grasp the weight of its significance. Still others could mistake it for being a mere romantic sentiment.
The statement: “Nothing you desire can compare with her.”
Granted, it could be romantic, if it were referring to a woman. But it’s not, as will be seen from its context. Before considering its context, though, take a moment to appreciate the intensity of this single phrase itself.
Nothing you desire can compare with her.
Nothing you desire? Nothing? There are many things we each desire, and many of them with great enthusiasm. What or who, would you say, do you desire most of all?
If your answer is something other than what this ancient proverb recommends, then its implication to you is that your greatest desire is set on a lesser thing than it could be; when it comes to desires, you’ve got a shoddy standard. That might seem a bit cheeky, but, for the Christian, who believes that this particular set of ancient proverbs (the biblical book of Proverbs) is divinely inspired, conceding the point is unavoidable. A biblical recommendation is no mere recommendation.
What, then, does it recommend? If nothing you desire can compare with her, who is “her”? Here’s the context:
“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.”
(Proverbs 3:13-18 ESV)
So then, “her” is wisdom, also known as understanding. The personification of wisdom as a desirable, dignified woman is a recurring device in the book of Proverbs — and an effective one, because the book is written as a father to his son, and a young man who’s coming of age can imagine the delight of being in relationship with such a woman.
But since the woman in view is not a woman at all, but wisdom, what about this wisdom? — In short, wisdom makes life everything you would want it to be. It is the key to a good and satisfying life. It’s better than wealth (“silver,” “gold,” “jewels”); in fact, wealth (“riches”) is merely one of the byproducts of wisdom, and not even the best one. The more important byproduct (“in her right hand”) is “long life,” and only secondarily (“in her left hand”) are the byproducts “riches and honor.” Clearly, wisdom has her priorities neatly sorted: what good are wealth and honor if you’re dead? But for one living a long life, they certainly have their value. Yet even long life itself is not everything, because what if it’s a long and miserable life? Wisdom has that covered, too, because “her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” So the long life provided by wisdom is a long life whose course is pleasant and peaceful, full of divine blessings. What more could a person ask for? No wonder there’s nothing better a person could desire!
If this is true, it should have massive ramifications on each of our lives. Above anything else that we try to do with our lives, we should be trying to gain wisdom — above money, above career, above hobbies, above everything.
But all of this raises a couple of other questions, which we now turn to explore (and which are worth exploring, if our cheeky proverb is true!): what even is wisdom? And how do you get it?
What is wisdom?
What really is wisdom, anyway? There are at least three aspects.
(1) Intellectual and (2) Practical Aspects
One way to begin answering the question is to look at other words that are associated with it. Read the introduction to Proverbs, which identifies the editor and expresses the purpose of the book:
“The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
(Proverbs 1:1-7 ESV)
Some of the words offered here as near-synonyms to wisdom are instruction, insight, prudence, knowledge, discretion, learning, and guidance. Therefore, it seems to have both an intellectual aspect (knowing about things) and, perhaps more strongly, a practical aspect (knowing what to do in a given scenario— for example, “in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity”). The last sentence of the passage is worth underscoring: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. So, the first step to having knowledge and wisdom is having a healthy fear of God. If, on the other hand, you don’t care about learning anything anyway, then you’re a fool. To be a fool in this sense is less of an indictment on one’s mental faculties and more of an indictment on one’s moral virtue.
Another helpful way to think through the “what is wisdom?” question is to consider the life of the editor of the book, Solomon.
As a young man, recently bereaved of his father and made king of Israel in his place, Solomon had a dream. In his dream, God appeared to him and gave him the opportunity to ask Him for anything he wanted. Solomon said:
“I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. …Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
(1 Kings 3:9 ESV)
God’s response? He was pleased, and said:
“Behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.”
(1 Kings 3:12 ESV)
From this exchange it can be concluded that, whatever else wisdom may be, it is certainly the ability to “discern between good and evil,” and, as observed in Proverbs 1, to know the right thing to do in a given scenario (“how to go out or come in”).
That’s huge. It makes sense of the fact that wisdom is compared to precious stones like gold, silver, and jewels — because it’s so rare. In our fallen human condition, not to mention in our present age of social and political turmoil, knowing the right thing to do and discerning between good and evil is always in short order. When someone is clearheaded enough to cut through the noise and make the right decision about something, it can even be impressive.
In Solomon’s case, the wisdom he was given manifested itself in clarity of judgment in his role as king (as in the famous dispute between the two prostitutes over whose child the baby was, in 1 Kings 3:16-28) and in great intellectual and creative works (proverbs, songs, advancements in natural science, and public lectures, as seen in 1 Kings 4:29-34).
So yes, wisdom has both intellectual and practical-everyday-life aspects. But there’s even more to it than that.
(3) The Spiritual Aspect
Many years after Solomon, another man of Israel weighed in on the topic of wisdom: Paul the Apostle. He claimed the existence of two different kinds of wisdom:
“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.”
(1 Corinthians 2:6-7 ESV)
The wisdom of this age is temporal wisdom; it’s the wisdom of the learned and elite of society, a property of the natural mind, which is limited in its character to natural things. It is this kind of wisdom which Paul refused to use as he preached to the Corinthians; in his words, Christ had called him “to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17). So also, the wisdom of this age is that which God said he would destroy, as Paul points out and explains:
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”
(1 Corinthians 1:18-21)
So, this worldly wisdom is antagonistic to the wisdom of God, thinking it to be folly, and it is insufficient to accomplish what the wisdom of God can accomplish: eternal salvation. In his subsequent letter to the Corinthians, Paul refers to this worldly wisdom by another name: “pretension” (NIV) or “lofty opinion” (ESV). It manifests as “every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
What then, exactly, is the wisdom of God? Paul states it clearly. He says,
“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
(1 Corinthians 1:22-24)
So the wisdom of God is Christ Himself—the person of Christ, and the message of Christ crucified.
What is that message? The message is this: although we humans sin against God and therefore deserve just punishment in hell, God became the human being Jesus Christ and took the penalty for our sin by dying in our place; then, He came back to life, and now, anyone who repents of their sin and trusts in His death and resurrection as their way to be forgiven and restored to a right relationship with God, is granted eternal life. This message is what Paul refers to with the shorthand expression, “Christ crucified.” This message is the wisdom of God, which the wisdom of this age can neither accept (1:18-24) nor properly communicate (1:17).
What does this wisdom of God that Paul refers to, which seems so narrowly defined, have to do with the wisdom of Solomon, which arguably seems much broader in its practical application? The link is Christ Himself.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes of his desire that they:
“reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”
(Colossians 2:2-4)
As a quick comment, notice that those “plausible arguments” which would threaten to delude Paul’s readers is yet another appearance of the “wisdom of this age” — so-called knowledge (fake news, one might say) which opposes the knowledge of God. Notice also that, prior to that, when Paul refers to “God’s mystery, which is Christ,” He is again making reference to the message of salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ. But the phrase in between is what’s key for our purposes: “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In Christ, the God-man, there are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Including the wisdom of Solomon? Absolutely. So, when a person receives Christ, who is the “wisdom of God,” they receive many things at once: above all, a right relationship with God, but as a consequence, a great number of benefits, including access to the ability to discern between good and evil, and to know the right thing to do in any given scenario — access to instruction, insight, prudence, knowledge, discretion, learning, and guidance. There are intellectual and practical aspects to wisdom, but there is also a spiritual aspect, and it is the latter which opens the door to the former.
How do you get wisdom?
That Christians have such access to this kind of practical wisdom may be surprising to some, since many Christians in their daily lives are, frankly, foolish. They don’t care about learning or growing in knowledge. But the fact is, just because Christians have access doesn’t mean they are taking advantage of the access they have. What, then, should a person do to receive that practical wisdom which is clarity about right and wrong, good and evil? Two passages spring to mind. The first is another excerpt from Solomon’s great book:
“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding…”
(Proverbs 2:1-6)
These words describe a multi-faculty pursuit of wisdom. It involves listening (“making your ear attentive”), meditating (“treasure up my commandments with you,” “inclining your heart to understanding”), asking (“call out,” “raise your voice"), and going wherever is necessary (“seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasures”). Practically, this means learning, studying, reading, talking (to God and to people), analyzing, thinking critically — all in service of gaining knowledge and wisdom. As Proverbs 4:7 says, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight” (ESV). So, to get wisdom you have to go get it. It takes effort and intention. Then, there is a promise: “you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” If you seek for it, you will find it. The seeking isn’t always easy, and the answer may not always come immediately, but if you seek for it intently, there is no doubt that you will find it. Wisdom and knowledge, the final verse assures us, comes from God, and He is willing to give it.
The second passage makes the same assurance, but with an important condition. It comes from the book of James:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
(James 1:5-6)
It’s simple: if you lack wisdom, ask God. He will give it to you, if you ask without doubting. What if you struggle with doubt that God will answer? The cure to doubt about this is this verse itself, which promises you will get the wisdom you ask for. Just ask, and then follow the course you believe to be wise, and you will have found the answer.
The Conclusion of the Matter
Much more could be (and has been) written on the matter of wisdom, but this discussion has laid some of the groundwork for understanding this thing which is most desirable above anything else.
Remember, wisdom starts and ends with the fear of the Lord: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10 ESV) and “then you will understand the fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 2:5 ESV). A true fear of the Lord leads a person to Christ, who is the wisdom of God, and in whom all treasures of knowledge and wisdom are hidden. There is ultimately no true wisdom apart from Christ. If there is no wisdom apart from Christ, there is likewise no guarantee of a life of pleasantness and peace apart from Him. To get that kind of life, you have to have wisdom; to get true wisdom, you have to have Christ; and to get Christ, you have to respond to the message of “Christ crucified” with repentance and faith. This is the key to a good and satisfying life.
Indeed, if Christ is Himself wisdom, then our original statement can be understood, in the final analysis, to refer to Him: nothing you desire can compare with Christ.