Proverbs 17:16

"Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no desire to get wisdom?"

Several conclusions can be drawn about the pursuit of wisdom in this passage. One is that sometimes money must be expended in the pursuit of wisdom. This is more clearly expressed by other translations, such as:

NASB--Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, When he has no sense?
NKJ--Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, since he has no heart for it?
NLT--It is senseless to pay tuition to educate a fool who has no heart for wisdom.

College, technical schools, conferences, and other contexts of purchased instruction are not foreign to the ancient mind and are not separated from the reality of the world. We must learn and we must be prepared for life. We must remember that what underlies every proverb is the conviction that all wisdom depends upon a genuine fear of the Lord. God can be met and known in the classroom, during a lecture, and in the student lounge. As with seminary education, those who reject the idea of academic instruction as hostile to spiritual progress do not understand our nature or God's immanence.

A second conclusion that can be drawn from this proverb is that learning and wisdom are not synonymous. Course work and lectures will not impart wisdom. The attainment of wisdom requires a "heart for it," i.e. the desire. Academic instruction may offer an opportunity for obtaining wisdom, but they do not grant it.

A third conclusion that can be drawn is that education without a desire for wisdom is a waste. In this proverb we find a man with no desire for wisdom having received the money to pay for his instruction. This, says Solomon, is a waste of hard-earned resources since it will not obtain for the student the ultimate purpose of education, which is wisdom. It is a sign of the decline of our culture that the purpose of education has become to obtain the technical knowledge and requirements to enter a certain vocation. Anyone who has been in a particular field of employment for a sufficient amount of time knows that experience trumps education at almost every opportunity. This is not to suggest that technical knowledge is unimportant. Rather, technical information, while necessary, is not primary. The best student in a class will not necessarily have the highest grade. Rather, he will be the one who can process the information, integrate it into his life, and be capable of moral and ethical judgments, actions with prudence, and an ability to learn. When education fails to focus upon one's ability to learn, listen, grow, interact, and understand, it is a foolish endeavor and a waste of money.

According to the translation offered by the NIV (at top), another conclusion may be drawn, and that is that money in the hand of a fool serves no good purpose. The Lord has a purpose for our use of money and it is more than just to gratify the interests and material desires of the possessor. The fool has money, but doesn't know what to do with it. He has a great gift, and no sense. Many even imagine themselves wise because of the money they have, without realizing that the use of the money, not the possession of it, is the true test of their worth.