Freedom's Hidden Clause
Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
Proverbs 23:23 (NKJV)
Ask most people how much their freedoms, religious, financial, physical, mental and so on, are worth to them, and they will boldly say, "Everything." Ask those who do not enjoy certain freedoms what they are willing to do to have them, and again they will tell you, "Anything." But the truth is that most of them are not being honest. Their mindsets, habits, work ethic and values testify to it: they desire the benefits of freedom without being willing to pay for them. That is a wishful mentality, and it gets you nothing but misery in life, because the truth is that everything worth having and enjoying in this life has a price tag, freedom included. How ironic. Part of us believes that all the good things in life must be handed to us freely, but I want you to change your mentality. Nothing is free, but freedom is attainable; you just have to pay for it.
Freedom is a strange thing: you cannot do or achieve much until you have it, and without it you are handicapped. If you desire spiritual, physical or financial freedom, it will cost you something. Nothing worth having in life is free, and it should not be. Think about it: wisdom is the most important thing in life, and it is costly, and so much more are all the other valuable things in life. The Scripture tells us to buy the truth, and this is meant literally, for the word "get" (qanah) in Proverbs 4:7, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and in all your getting, get understanding," means to acquire or obtain something by purchasing it.
This is something many people struggle to realise, and that is why the world is full of dejected and unfulfilled people: they are simply not willing to pay the price for the freedoms they want, and so they remain stationary in life. Even Jesus knew that He had to purchase the salvation of mankind with His blood. In the Old Testament the priests offered gifts and sacrifices to God for sins; it is the law of life. The wisest man who ever lived acquired his wisdom and wealth in a dream after he had given God offerings, and Abraham entered into covenant with God after he brought God the offerings He had instructed him to bring. These things have a price.
Beloved, if you will pay the price, you will be free. The price is not always measured in money. Sometimes it is a season of protracted prayer and fasting. Sometimes it is trading your laziness and excuses for diligence, asking someone to mentor and instruct you, applying for that course, staying up late into the night to finish that project, developing honourable virtues, investing that money in books, or changing your habits and your mindset. Whatever the cost of freedom, if you will pay it, you will have freedom. The question now is whether you will buy the truth, wisdom, instruction, which here means mentorship and coaching, and understanding.
Stop making excuses. You can obtain and achieve anything and everything good that life has to offer; you just have to be single-minded and determined to pay the price. Those who are unwilling will go on living at the mercy of chance and luck. But to the wise I say: buy your freedom. Buy wisdom, knowledge and understanding.