A heart of gold is not something you come by every day. Like Neil Young, you might just find yourself singing, “I’m getting old,” before you find one. Although it is hard, it isn’t impossible if we mine for a golden heart in the right places. Truthfully, gold mining itself can look rather foolish. To quote Warren Buffet, “[Gold] gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.” However, when it comes to the matters of the heart and finding wisdom, the diligence of a miner pays great rewards. Wisdom offers benefits to the seeker that are far beyond the worth of gold.
Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
Prov. 3:16-18
Proverbs promise that Wisdom will be found by those who seek her with all the diligence of a miner.
My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
Prov. 2: 1-5
There is a progression in the intensity of the true seeker of wisdom. The person who desires wisdom must first passively accept wisdom’s words. It requires ears that are attentive and a heart that is still enough to perceive wisdom’s whisper. God speaks to our hearts when we are still enough in our soul to hear him. The son in these verses is challenged to do more than passively listen though. He must also call out for insight. Then the son must search for wisdom as for a hidden treasure. There are treasures of wisdom stored up for those who will apply their hearts with diligence to the pursuit. Veins of precious ore are discovered by miners through drilling deep into the heart of the earth. In the same way, God has spiritual treasures for us to hide deep within our hearts. Once they are discovered, many others will find joy and be blessed by that treasure. However, as in mining, we have to believe that God has treasures for us to store in our hearts, and that as we do, we will discover our own heart to be a heart of gold.