Truly Priceless

Friday - October 23rd

Scripture to Read Today: Proverbs 23:1-35

---

Buy the truth and do not sell it—

wisdom, instruction and insight as well.

Proverbs 23:23

Yesterday I had a ring that Lesli gave me after we got engaged in March of 1989 cut from my right ring finger. I had not taken the ring off for almost 20 years. Over the weekend, I got it caught on the rung of a ladder I was using, and it cut into my finger. By mid-week, my finger had swollen, and the cut from the ring's band had not healed. It became obvious that I needed to get the ring removed. So, I went to a jewelry store. The gracious jeweler used a little saw to cut it off my aching finger.

The ring has a black onyx stone with a line of tiny diamonds running down the middle. The band is gold, simple, but elegant. When I was a kid, my Grandpa Thornton had a similar black onyx ring. I admired his ring. When we were dating, I told Lesli about Grandpa's ring. When she first met him, I had him show it to her. So, it was a sweet gift when Lesli gave me my black onyx ring that resembled Grandpa's ring. Seeing it cut in two yesterday hurt a little bit. The ring is priceless to me. And, its value is more than the link to my grandfather.

When Lesli and I were dating, we spent our summers apart. One summer, I sent her a "promise ring." I got the ring from a gumball machine. The note that accompanied the toy ring said, "The next time I give you a ring, I promise it will not be from a gumball machine." Lesli loved the fun the ring represented and promised me that if she ever got me a ring, it would not be from a gumball machine either.

Fast forward to March of 1989. I asked Lesli to marry me; she said, "yes," and I gave her a real diamond engagement ring. A few days later, she surprised me with a little gift box. When I opened it, I found the black onyx ring that I had cut off my finger yesterday. Because of its link to my grandfather and Lesli's thoughtfulness and love in giving it to me, that ring is truly priceless to me. Seeing it cut in two brought a pang of sadness to my heart. When the jeweler said it could be easily restored and resized to my finger, I was much relieved. The ring means so much to me, personally!

Proverbs 23:23 says, "buy the truth and sell it not." It then adds "wisdom, instruction, and insight" as things to acquire and not sell for any reason. To the Lord, any price to get truth, wisdom, instruction, and insight for life should be paid by God's children. And then, once we have these things, the Lord says we should accept no price to dispose of them. We should hold them as priceless. They are truly priceless.

In this era of COVID, everyone is evaluating what their values are. We are all examining our priorities and what we hold dear - what we consider priceless. It may be things that have deep personal meaning and value, like a black onyx ring. But God says we should value truth, wisdom, instruction, and insight so much that we never let go of them ourselves. We can share them with others. But once we acquire them, we should hold them tightly.

How truly priceless is truth to you? How much do you value wisdom, instruction, and insight?

In a world where our values and priorities are all over the place, we need to put a high value on truth!