The Value of Wisdom Proverbs 3:5-21

One day in 1992, Teri Horton wandered into a thrift shop in San Bernardino, California in search of a birthday present for her friend. A painting caught her eye: "I lifted up the canvas and took it up to the lady in the thrift store, and I asked her what she wanted for it. And she said, `Oh, give me $8.' And I said: `I love my friend, but I don't love her that much.' So she gave it to me for 5,"

Horton said, she never liked the artwork and only bought it as a joke.

"We were going to get the darts and throw at it, but we never got around to it," Horton would eventually give the painting to a friend, who gave it back to Horton when she couldn't fit it through her door. Horton tried to sell it in a yard sale. That's when an art teacher stopped by. "He looked at it and he said, `I'm no expert...This could be by Jackson Pollock.' She didn’t even know who it was. But later on one art collector offered Horton $2 million for the painting that bought as a joke for $5 at a thrift store.

We all love finding something valuable—but Scripture says there’s something worth far more than money or treasure: It’s wisdom.

Last week we saw that wisdom is calling out in the open for everyone to learn from her. We also saw the consequences of continuing to ignore wisdom. We said we can repent and start listing to her today by mediating of God’s word, walking with God’s people and asking God for it.

Today we are going to see the value of wisdom and how we can prepare our hearts and minds to receive it.

Wisdom is valuable.

If you have your bibles turn with me to Proverbs 3. If you don’t have a bible. We have some on the back table. If you are looking for Proverbs in your bible its on the left side in the OT. Comes right after Psalms and right before Ecclesiastes.

Proverbs 3:13-18

Proverbs 3:13–18

Wisdom is valuable. It’s more profitable than silver and has better return than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies. We will be blessed if we find wisdom. With wisdom comes long life, riches, honor and peace. Wisdom is the tree of life. Now remember that Proverbs deals with probabilities and not promises. There are exceptions to these general rules.

What are the things that we end trying to replace wisdom with. Wealth, titles, power? Wealth is fleeting. We will learn that when we cast but a glance to money and its gone. It grows wings and fly’s away.

Titles, power and our authority are temporary. Listen to what Daniel says

Daniel 2:20-21

Daniel 2:20–21

Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

Titles and power are God’s and when we have them they are temporary. Your titles will pass on. Your authority will someday end.

Even this life is short lived. We are but a vapor here today and gone tomorrow. But even with wealth, titles, power and even this life being uncertainty Godly wisdom will last.

Wisdom is valuable it will last, but it’s also rare.

Proverbs 3:19-21

Proverbs 3:19–21

By wisdom God created everything. Wisdom is rare so don’t let it out of your sight.

Mark Twain understood that wisdom was rare. He said, “whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.” So if everyone else is doing it or thinking it you should probably question it. Wisdom is rare.

Wisdom is more precious then rubies, nothing that you can desire can compare with her. She is valuable, she is rare, but God gives wisdom away freely.

So if wisdom is this rare and valuable, how do we actually get it? Proverbs 3 gives us four ways to prepare our hearts.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5–6

You don’t have to lean on your own understanding you don’t have to trust in your own plans. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Not some or part but all of your heart. Give all your ways and paths to Him. He will make them straight.

Do you have a Career choices → Pray and seek God’s direction instead of relying only on salary, status, or convenience. God, where can I best serve You and use my gifts?

Do you have Financial decisions → Trust God by giving generously and seeking wisdom before making big purchases. Ask God for wisdom rather than just relying on what “feels right” or what culture says.

Parenting → Lean on God’s Word and prayer rather than just the latest trends or advice. Trust that planting seeds of faith—even when you don’t see immediate results—will produce fruit in God’s time.

In your Relationships → Seek God’s will in dating, marriage, and conflict resolution instead of acting on emotion or pride. Seek God’s direction and look for a partner who shares your faith.

In conflict, instead of reacting out of pride or anger, you submit to God’s way of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Health struggles → Trust God for peace and healing while following wise medical guidance. If your facing a diagnosis, follow doctors’ advice but ultimately trust God for healing and peace.

Choosing prayer and faith over constant worry, remembering God is sovereign even when you don’t understand the “why.”

In your Daily interruptions → See unexpected events as possible redirection from God, not just inconveniences. You’ve planned your day, but an unexpected need arises—someone needs encouragement, or God places a person in your path. Instead of being frustrated, you pause and see it as God redirecting your steps.

In your Major transitions → Pray and trust God’s leading in moving, school, job changes, or retirement. pray first, seek wise counsel, and trust God’s leading instead of stressing over every “what if.”

Trust in the Lord and lean not in your own understanding. Secondly if we want to prepare our hearts to receive wisdom, we must humble yourselves. One of the things that you will learn in proverbs and all through scripture is the need we have to humble yourselves.

Proverbs 3:7-8

Proverbs 3:7–8

Don’t be wise in your own eyes. In other words humble yourselves. This is a call all through scripture. Jesus said blessed are the poor in sprit, blessed are the meek. Paul says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” James says, “God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble.” And “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” And Micah observes, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly j with your God. ”

Trust in God not yourself, humble yourselves and third if we want to prepare our hearts to receive wisdom, we must honor the Lord with your wealth.

Proverbs 3:9-10

Proverbs 3:9–10

Now this might seem strange to talk about money in the midst of talking about the value of wisdom and how to gain it. But if we think about it, money and wealth can be one of the major things that keep us from trusting God. Remember that, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

So honoring God with our money can help us to put our hearts in the position to trust God with all our heart and not just part of it. It says to honor God with the first fruits. We will talk about this more when we talk about wisdom and money. But in the Hamilton family Budget we put God as the first line item. We give to the work of His kingdom right here at Journey Church before we do anything else. This helps us to have our hearts positioned rightly to trust God with all our heart. Everything that we are and have is God’s, so we honor God with the first fruits. Every day we joyfully give God the best of everything we are and everything we have. We trust that Jesus is all we need, being transformed by who He is and what He has done.

Trust God not yourselves, humble yourselves, honor God with your money and lastly if we want to prepare our hearts to receive wisdom, we must accept God’s discipline because He loves us.

Proverbs 3:11-12

Proverbs 3:11–12

Accept God’s Discipline as an Expression of His Love

1. Discipline shows relationship, not rejection

• God disciplines His children.

• If you are experiencing His correction, it’s not proof He’s against you—it’s evidence that you belong to Him (Hebrews 12:6).

Hebrews 12:6

• Just like a loving parent doesn’t let their child play in traffic, God steps in to protect us.

2. Discipline is about growth, not punishment

• Punishment looks backward at what you did wrong. Discipline looks forward to who you’re becoming.

• God’s discipline is meant to shape your character, redirect your path, and make you more like Jesus.

• A coach making an athlete run drills—it’s not to hurt them but to make them stronger.

3. Discipline calls for trust, not resentment

• Our natural reaction is to resist correction. But Proverbs tells us not to despise or resent it.

• When we trust that God loves us, we can see discipline as His way of guiding us toward life and wisdom.

• Just as kids, we didn’t understand curfews or rules. Later, we realized they were there to protect us.

4. Discipline is proof of God’s delight in you

• Verse 12 says He disciplines those He loves or “delights in.”

• His correction is not about anger, but about delight—because He sees your potential and cares too much to let you wander into destruction.

There are 3 majors ways that God disciplines us: God disciplines us through His word calling us to repentance and to obedience. His Spirit living in us to convict us of sin. And third God disciplines us through His people. We build strong relationships, walking side by side through the messiness of life with prayer, accountability, and encouragement.

Accountability from God’s people is not about pointing out the speck in our eyes it’s to help us grow and see more clearly. God uses His word, His Spirit and His people to discipline us because He loves us. Don’t despise or resent it.

God’s wisdom is valuable and rare but He gives it away freely. Trust God not yourselves, humble yourselves, honor God with your money and accept God’s discipline because He loves you.

Proverbs points us to wisdom, but the New Testament tells us wisdom has a name: Jesus Christ. He is the treasure more valuable than rubies, and when we trust Him, He becomes our wisdom, our peace, and our life. Do you trust Him?