The Economics of God’s Truth

“Buy truth, and do not sell it; get wisdom and instruction and understanding.” (Proverbs 23:23, AMP)

Think about an engagement ring. That is an item that is purchased for a large sum of money. And not only that, but after that initial purchase, the item gains meaning for us. Not only is it something that is purchased at a great personal, financial cost, but it’s also something that has a great deal of symbolism that heightens the value of the ring. It’s a symbol of love, of a vow, a commitment, and a covenant between two people. Those things make that ring priceless. 

Now imagine, after all that intrinsic and irreplaceable value, would you suddenly turn around and sell that engagement ring at a garage sale? Probably not. A garage sale is where items of a much lesser value are sold, and no one is going to pay the price that a diamond ring is worth standing in your driveway. That would be grossly undercutting the worth of it. 

Solomon gives us the same idea here, except with Godly wisdom. We should go to great lengths to obtain it. He uses the word “buy” not in the sense that God’s wisdom can be purchased in the way we procure goods, but that we should pay whatever cost is required to get it. I think it’s fair to say that when we want something bad enough, we are willing to pay the price to get it. 

We should see God’s wisdom, nature, and character– His holiness, and understanding His ways– as worth whatever price it is to get it. Be it our time; what it takes to devote in setting everything else aside, opening up our Bibles, and not just reading but internalizing and understanding what is written there. Be it our comfortability; when that wisdom in God’s Word strikes a chord in our hearts, do we confront that sin with the Truth of the Holy Spirit and allow ourselves to be changed, or do we ignore conviction and leave insight on the shelf?

And what about the highest price there is? Martyrs have died in the name of Jesus. Others have gone to prison or fled their homes for the Truth of the Gospel. 

Do we find God’s Wisdom to be worth that? Do we live a lifestyle that counts the Gospel among the most valuable things in this life? Would we pay the cost to attain it with everything we have, knowing that we have so much more to gain because of it? Or would we shrink back from a personal cost that high?

And once we attain the wisdom we’re seeking by faith, what do we do with it? Solomon urges us to hold onto it by any means necessary. Treat it like something that is priceless, the way your engagement ring to your one and only true love would be. Treat it like something you could never imagine giving up.

Any other possession can be sold off, but never the grace by which we’re saved; never the wisdom gained from living a life in God’s presence. Solomon continues on saying, “Buy truth, and do not sell it.” 

The cost of the truth of the Gospel is high. It may cost us everything we have, so to turn around and personally devalue it to the point where we wouldn’t consider holding on to it is unthinkable to someone who understands the cost.

And we shouldn’t confuse this idea of “selling” truth or wisdom as teaching. Teaching is imparting the wisdom we have but it never involves letting that knowledge we have go. Whereas selling something means you trade it away for something else you’d rather have. You transactionally part with it. The fact that Solomon has chosen the word “sell,” implies that he’s advising the reader to never be in a situation where we would desire to trade that understanding of God and the grace He gives for anything else.

Because that Truth– that wisdom, understanding, and instruction– should be more precious to us than our very lives. There should be nothing out there that we would desire more than it. And I think if we’re being really honest with our Christianity, we don’t always treat our faith as something that is non-negotiable, or not for sale. Often, we say it is, but our actual lifestyles don’t match up with that– either by the lack of devotion we have for pursuing God and His instruction, or by our failure to apply that wisdom to our lives and turn from the sin we have grown comfortable with.

Is the grace that God has given us and the salvation we enjoy for sale? Do we have idols in our lives that we would choose over God’s Truth? 

Marguerite de Navarre was a French princess in the 16th century, sister of King Francis I. France was very solidly a Catholic nation under monarchical rule. While her brother was a Catholic king, he was lenient when it came to his sister and the fondness he had for her, despite her Protestant beliefs. Under his rule, she did much to further the Gospel by way of the influence she had as royalty: freeing known Protestant preachers and poets from prison, saving them from the executioners block, and influencing her brother to be a tolerant king, despite pressure from the Vatican. 

Eventually she was married off to the King of Navarre, a neighboring nation, and her brother’s resolve for catholicism strengthened. But she still worked to further the Gospel, even bringing her husband to faith. 

While things like education, correspondence, influence, and time may have come easily to Marguerite, the cost of her faith was great for her. Her relationship with her brother, Francis, grew more and more strained as they aged due to their differing beliefs. When he died, her grief was great. She also only had one daughter, Jeanne, who was taken from her to be raised in French court as a Roman Catholic princess, far away from Marguerite’s evangelical theology. 

For a mother, there aren’t many more prices to pay for following Jesus, but she looked at the grief and still found the Gospel to be worth it. Marguerite gave up her opportunity to raise and be with her only child in order to further the Truth God made real in her heart. Let that be an encouragement and an example for us as we run the race of faith. Let us stand in our resolve to seek Truth no matter the cost, and to hold on to it above all else.

God’s Truth is far more precious than rubies. It is more significant and priceless than an engagement ring on your finger– long awaited for, weighty in meaning, and cherished beyond words. If we find within ourselves anything worth trading for it, then we need to confront whatever idols and sins that cloud our vision and dim our desire for God’s wisdom. To ignore it or make light of it will affect the fruit we bear in our faith, and will affect how we serve and glorify our King.