January 24, 1848, was an important day in the history of the United States. A man by the name of James Marshall was working at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento, California, when he noticed something very shiny in the river. To his amazement, the shiny piece of metal that he had discovered was gold. The news of the discovery soon spread abroad, resulting in over 300,000 men, women, and children coming to California in search of gold. The discovery of gold brought people from every state in the Union, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Many people sacrificed their health and wealth for the hope that they too would be able to discover gold.

The question today is, “Why would so many people be willing to risk so much in search of gold?” People back then, and even today, understand that gold has significant value. Here is the value of gold:

• 1 ounce= $735
• 1 pound= $8,826
• 1 Kilogram= $23,649.52
• 1 Ton= $21.4 million dollars

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind having a few tons of gold today! Gold has great value and can be used to buy some amazing possessions. However, as we look at the Bible, God tells us that there is something that is better than gold. You might ask yourself, “What’s better than $21.4 million dollars?” God answers this question for us in Proverbs 16:16: “How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! And to get Begin asking God today to give you wisdom so you can have the ability to make sound, correct decisions in your life.understanding rather to be chosen than silver!” According to the Bible, wisdom is better than gold!

What is wisdom? Wisdom is the quality of being wise; the power of judging rightly and following the soundest course of action. It is imperative in the life of a teenager that he get wisdom! Wisdom is not just for people with white or gray hair; wisdom is for everyone. Each day that you live your life, you are going to be faced with situations and decisions to make that are going to require wisdom.

This morning when you woke up, you began exercising wisdom. Maybe the decisions you made were not life altering, but you nonetheless showed wisdom if you made the right choices. The choice to brush your teeth, shower, eat, go to school, and readyour Bible, were all choices you made with wisdom. However, the older you become, the tougher your choices and decision are going to be. Soon, you will need to make decisions such as…

• Where should I go to Bible College?
• Who should I marry?
• What should my profession be?
• Where should I live?

These are only a few of many choices you are going to make, and in order for you to make the right choice, you must have wisdom. If wisdom is vitally important for the success of a teenager, how then can you get wisdom? I believe there are several things you can do right now to obtain wisdom.

1. Word of God
   Paul wrote to Timothy in II Timothy 3:15, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The first place that a teenager can find wisdom is the source of all wisdom, the Word of God. The Bible is the only book in all of the world that can answer every question to life’s problems. The tragedy is that so many teens fail to have wisdom because they fail to get in the Word of God. Let me ask you, when was the last time you read your Bible? Is the Bible something you carry to church once a week? Is the only time your Bible is opened is when the pastor tells you the text to his message? A young person will never have wisdom if he is never in the Word of God. Charles Spurgeon once said, “This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.”
   
   
2. Walk with Wise Men
   Proverbs 13:20 says, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” You cannot have wisdom if you are walking with people who do not have wisdom. Every teenager needs to find someone in his life that has more wisdom than he does so that he can assist you in getting wisdom.
   
   
3. Willingness to Be Instructed
   You as a teenager do not know everything about life; therefore, you must be willing to allow other people to instruct you in your life.

• Proverbs 1:8 - “My son, hear the instruction of thy father.”
• Proverbs 4:1 - “Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father.”
• Proverbs 4:13 - “Take fast hold of instruction.”
• Proverbs 8:33 – “Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.”

Who can tell you what to do? Let me encourage you today to allow yourself to be instructed. Whether it be from a dad, mom, pastor, youth pastor, teacher, or mentor, be willing to take instruction in your life so you can have wisdom in making right choices.

The Bible tells us in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

Begin asking God today to give you wisdom so you can have the ability to make sound, correct decisions in your life. Yes, gold does have great monetary value today; but, according to the Word of God, wisdom is better than gold!