The Characteristics of a Treasure

We are all searching for some kind of treasure. Something that suddenly propels us to the next level of living.

Most of us are looking for money, playing the lottery or the stock market. Some are looking for fame/recognition, hoping their video goes viral or their big break comes knocking on the door. 

We seek treasures in all shapes and sizes. In fact, the kind of treasure we seek helps orient the kind of life we live.

The Greatest Treasure

One of the bold claims of Wisdom Literature (the books that encompass Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon) is that wisdom is better for us than anything else we can conceive of. In fact, this is the central purpose of this genre – to show the value of wisdom.

Every person is looking for a way to explain to themselves why the world is the way it is. Why is there evil and how do I overcome it? What does it mean to be successful and how do I pursue that path?

This question of treasure is right up there. What is the true source of treasure and how do I get it? When you watch a treasure-hunter movie or television show, the treasure consumes the pursuer’s life. It becomes a kind of obsession. There is so much desperate hope, so much affection, so much trust placed in the achieving of the treasure and what that might mean for their lives that it becomes the defining reason for their existence.

Wisdom literature suggests we ought to lean into this inclination. But that our desire is not for some pirate treasure buried in a sea cave. It is the wisdom of heaven, a God-centered perspective that helps explain why reality is how it is and what that means for our daily lives.

The Character of Wisdom

Wisdom has all of the characteristics of a great treasure. 

It is valuable. The truth is, none of us want silver and gold, money or stock options, just for the sake of it. They are resources. Literally, currencies. A means toward something else. What is that something else? What do we hope our money will buy for us? Significance? Influence? Purpose? Wisdom is a treasure because it is the truer path to all of these things. It is, in reality, a manifestation of the values we hold most dear. Wisdom allows us to use our resources effectively. Wisdom invites us to perceive truly. Wisdom ushers meaning into our lives that transcends circumstance. It allows us to steward our opportunities.

Another great characteristic of treasure is that you have to find it. You’ve got to go out and seek it. Wisdom is bigger than any one of us. We have to search for it. Look for it. Find it. But just like pirate treasure, what we truly desire is to make it our own. To take it into ourselves. Unlike gold and silver, physical treasures that pass hands, wisdom is not temporal. Like love, it is one of the few things that grows as you give it away. Wisdom is both internal and external. In order to truly be yourself, you have to find something bigger than yourself in which to participate. And wisdom is the truest path to both our self expression and our community involvement.

Lastly, like any treasure, wisdom costs us something. There is a price we have to pay. We work for money. We have to sacrifice energy, time, and effort. The price of wisdom is that we have to lay down our superficial, flesh-centered perspectives. Wisdom is often the harder way. An exercise in delayed gratification. 

But unlike gold and silver, the prize exceeds the effort. With lesser treasures, we spend more than we gain because we are expending effort that might gain eternal rewards for the sake of a reward that will one day fade away. And there are countless stories of how worldly treasures actually destroy a person. On the other hand, wisdom provides. It rewards. It is the truest treasure we can possibly pursue in this life.