Thursday, December 3, 2015

Proverbs 16:16 -- On Wisdom and Faith

"How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!"
Proverbs 16:16


Wisdom is better than money. :)  I think that is very clear, but the whole idea of wisdom sometimes gets clouded, especially in our society where some of what is called education actually encourages us to reject God.
God's concept of education is different than the one that we often see in the world.  He makes a clear distinction between the ways that we use our learning, and whether it is wisdom or foolishness. :)
Later in this same chapter we read "Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly" (verse 22).  We also read that sometimes being learned gets people in trouble because they think that they know better than God, and they don't listen to him (2 Nephi 9:28-29).  We're told to "seek learning, even by study and also by faith" (D&C 88:118).
God's way of learning incorporates spirituality rather than rejecting it.   God's gospel doesn't contradict any truth.  In fact, D&C 93:36 tells us that "The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth."  Learning truth wherever it may be found is something that God wants us to do... as long as we are doing it with the spirit, and with him as our guide.  We can study and learn many truths, and faith can also teach us.  Today, let's not fall into the traps of either thinking that wisdom means rejecting God, or that learning makes us wiser than God is.  Let's study and learn and find out how all truth works together, and how God uses it to do the incredible things that he does.  Let's join faith and study together and gain more wisdom than we could ever gain by study alone.

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