In recent years the market value of Silver and Gold has increased significantly. Investors find comfort in the stability of these precious metals in the midst of uncertain or volatile global conditions. Silver and Gold are often used as a safety net strategy in a financial portfolio. They provide an added sense of security and protection to help offset the risk of potential loss in other investments.
So, is there any better investment than Silver and Gold to help protect you in challenging times? According to King Solomon, there is:
Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. (Proverbs 3:13-15 NLT)
There is nothing more valuable and secure than skillful and godly wisdom and creativity. Let me challenge you today to be intentional about investing in wisdom and creative materials. Consistently read the creator’s manual, prayerfully reflect on His truth, and humbly seek godly wisdom from others you respect. A daily "cost averaging" investment approach to gaining wisdom is guaranteed to pay eternal dividends that will never lose their value. It doesn't get any better than that!
The Anatomy of Creative Wisdom
"Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do."
—Steve Jobs, Apple C.E.O.
Has this ever happened to you? You’re out for a jog, you’re completely relaxed, your mind is blank. Than all of a sudden into your head pops the solutions to a problem you’ve been mulling over for days or weeks. You can’t help but wonder why you didn’t think of it before.
In such moments you have made contact with the creative spirit. The creative spirit is more than an occasional insight or whimsical flourish. When the creative spirit stirs it animates a style of being; a lifetime filled with the desire to innovate to explore new ways of doing things to bring dreams to reality. No matter who you are the creative spirit can enter your life. It is at hand for anyone who has the urge to make, to explore new possibilities to leave things a little better than before.
The creative spirit was at work for example in the life of Martin Luther King, whose vision and nonviolence social tactics changed his nation. And it was at work throughout the life of Martha Graham who continue to transform who continue to transform modern dance until her death at ninety –six. But the spirit also shows up in the adventurous cook who continually invents recipes or the inspiring teacher who constantly finds new ways to challenge students. Creative moments are vital to everything we do in life, in our relationships our family, our work and our community.
Let’s move a little bit further and digest a quick scenario that demonstrates the spirit of creative wisdom at work.
Bread and Fish for All
On a certain day a man went across the Sea of Galilee (some call it Tiberias). Suddenly a huge crowd followed him. They were attracted by the good deeds that they had seen him done for so many people. When he got to the other side, across Tiberias, he climbed a huge mountain and sat down. He was assisted and surrounded by his aides and helpers.
Suddenly the man looked out and saw that a large crowd had followed him and arrived on the other side, across Tiberias. They were waiting for him. He said to his aides and friends “Where can we buy bread to feed all of these people?” I do not know they were following me. However, he already knew what he was going to do with the crow but he just wanted to see how his aides and friends will react. One of his aides said answered, Boy not even “Two hundred silver pieces would be enough to buy bread for each person or to feed this crow. Another of his aides said, “I think I noticed a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But that’s a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this.”
The man suddenly got personal insight on how he would make it work. He said enthusiastically to his aide “Make the people sit down.” There was a nice carpet of green grass in the mountain. The crowd sat down as the man had instructed. There were about five thousand individuals present. Then the man took the bread that had been taken from the little boy. He gave thanks and, asked his aides to distribute the bread to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish. All five thousand individuals ate as much as they wanted. When the people had eaten their fill, he said to his aides, “Gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted.” His adios did exactly as he told them to do. They went to work gathering all the leftovers and filled twelve large baskets with leftovers from the five barley loaves. The crowd suddenly realized that God was at work among them in what the man had just done. They started saying good things about him. The man saw that in their enthusiasm, they were about to grab him and make him king, so he slipped off and went back up the mountain to be by himself.
What an illustration of creative wisdom at work to bring a solution to a food shortage crisis. You see great leaders, groups and individual can exercise creative wisdom at the spur of the moment. In this scenario, the man who was able to give a little bread and fish to several thousand individuals knew exactly what he was going. He had personal insight on how to make this thing work. He exercise creative wisdom, did his thing and the food multiplied. He was able to feed all five thousand individuals with leftovers after they had eaten. Notice what he also did. He organized the crow of five thousand and asked them to seat down. This is a demonstration of how creative wisdom works. There is often a situation, a limitation or lack of sufficient resources, a courageous individual who figures out internally what to do with the lack of resources and limitation and an execution of the resources to meet the current need creatively by that individual. Most times after an operation of creative wisdom, there are not only resources adequate to meet the current need but leftovers and surpluses that can be used at a future time.
I have arrived at the keen realization that great leaders are also great listeners. The man in illustration first spoke about the pressing need to feed five thousand individuals who had invited themselves to follow him without his invitation. In modern times we will be quick to label this as a crisis. But see how he handled the situation. He asked his aides relevant questions and listened to his aides about the various