Thoughts About Leadership: Leadership: The Art of Extending Self to Others

Proverbs 4:5 (MSG) Sell everything and buy Wisdom! Forage for Understanding! Don't forget one word! Don't deviate an inch!

Proverbs 4: 7b (NKJV) "...and in all your getting, get understanding"
I Cor 1:24 (NIV) "...but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Col 2:3 (MSG) "I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. 3All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery!"
Matt 13:45,46 (NLT) "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!"
I Cor 1:25 (NLT) "This "foolish" plan of God is far wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is far stronger than the greatest of human strength."

The rendering in The Message captures some of the intensity in this verse with 7b adding the underlying tone. The writer has said, in so many words, that in all of the learning, in all the schooling, in all of life, Wisdom is not only the first thing, but also, the primary thing of importance. Godly wisdom is so important that everything else is second place. Not business experience. Not an MBA. Not a PhD. Good stuff to have, but not unless you get Wisdom -- and the reason?

The Apostle Paul sheds some light on that in several places as shown in the verses above. It is Christ who is Wisdom. It is He who is "understanding" and knowledge. And that fact is hidden to the fleshly nature of people, but revealed to those who have appropriated God's nature through Christ. So the getting of Wisdom is more than just knowing stuff.

And its getting is very different from "getting something at the supermarket." Its not about "getting a new car" or some other thing. The phrase used in Proverbs 4:7b is a similar phrase that Jesus used for seeking (see Matt 13) the kingdom of God - in ALL your getting means there is nothing of greater value for you to be getting. The analogy that Jesus used creates the picture of someone who knows what he was looking for, and when he found it, he did something rather extraordinary. He sold EVERYTHING he owned - He sold it all. Seems rather silly. A good financial planner needs to have a chat with this fellow. "How are you going to buy food? Pay the mortgage? Provide for your family? Get the car you need? Don't put your eggs all in one basket! The market for pearls is volatile depending on amount of rain, the temperature of the water and the amount of algae in the water. Slow down. Think about what you are doing here!" Not Jesus' advice. Not Solomon's advice. Sell it all to get Wisdom.

Paul even anticipated the financial planner's advice (see I Cor 1:25). God's ways are not man's way. His thoughts not our thoughts. Focus on one thing and one thing only. Get God's Wisdom - which is Christ. It's all that matters - even for those running a business. Or a home. Or a life.