As a young person, I sometimes flipped on the the television and got a glimpse of Live Atlanta Wrestling. I wondered why anyone would go to that trouble and pain to get an audience. I suppose it paid good money, and brought a sense of fame to the participants, but I found it of no interest except perhaps for the chuckle I received from hearing the outlandish names of the wrestlers. That program showed wrestling on the physical level. This morning I found myself wrestling on the spiritual level with a passage of scripture.

I read a One Year Bible (New Living Translation) that has passages from the Old Testament, the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs all in one day’s reading. This morning I read Proverb 23:23, “Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgement.” I remembered reading that before and wondering what does it mean to not sell the truth? In my reading the verse appeared by itself so I could not know the context, what came before and after, without looking into Proverbs in another version of the Bible I had handy. Also, I checked Bible Gateway to see if I could find any commentary on the verse.

The passage I had read in the New Living Translation as a single verse used slightly different wording from the passage I read in the New King James Version: “Buy the truth and do not sell it, also wisdom, and instruction and understanding.” I also saw in the NKJV that the preceding verse read, “Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” The Asbury Commentary I found on Bible Gateway indicated that parents gave wisdom teachings to their children as a way to ensure their immortality through the good lives of their children.

The NKJV prompted a prayer/thought, God I am trying to get understanding. Help.

I began to understand that people are to search out the truth even if it costs money or time. I know from other Bible reading that Jesus is the truth. He offers a firm beginning in finding truth. If I want to grow in knowing truth then I will have to invest in getting it however I need to invest. Once I know the truth, I must treasure it and not let it leave my being even if someone offers me a million dollars.

Then I recalled a verse (Holy Spirit reminded me) about buying something without money to pay for it. I searched the Concordance at the back of the Bible to see if I could find that verse. I found it! Isaiah 55:1 (NLT) “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free!” A check of the Asbury Commentary indicated the verse refers to an invitation to receive the grace of God which is free and relates to Jesus, the giver of living water.

As a Christian, I wrestle with God’s word when I read it and do not fully understand what I have read. Thankfully, many good websites provide free commentaries and other helps in searching out God’s truth for yourself. I just gave an example of how that works for one on a daily path to better understand God. Have you wrestled with God’s word lately? Have seen wrestling on television and encountered any outlandish names?