⁹ He continues: “If you keep seeking for it [understanding] as for silver, and as for hid treasures you keep searching for it, . . .” (Proverbs 2:4) This makes us think of the mining exploits of men who over the centuries have searched for the so-called precious metals silver and gold. Men have killed for gold. Others have spent a lifetime trying to find it. What true value, though, does gold have? If you were lost in a desert and dying of thirst, which would you prefer: a bar of gold or a glass of water? Yet, with what zeal men have sought gold, with its artificial and arbitrary value!a With how much more zeal we should seek wisdom, discernment, and understanding of God and his will! But what are the benefits of such a search?​—Psalm 19:7-10; Proverbs 3:13-18.