An Adventure in Proverbs - Chapter 8

In this passage, it is Wisdom who is speaking, wisdom that is derived from the Lord.

¹⁷     I love those who love me;
        those who search hard for me will find me.
¹⁸     Riches and honor are the benefit of following me;
        so are lasting wealth and justice.
¹⁹     My reward is better than gold, even the purest gold;
        and my profit is greater than the highest quality silver.
²⁰     I follow the way of right living.
        Follow me along the path to find justice;
²¹     I’m ready to meet those who love me, bestow true riches upon them,
        and fill up their lives until their treasuries overflow.

Wisdom is reminding the reader that having him is far more beneficial than beign wealthy. We've seen this played out time and again in our day through the wonder of modern media. We get to watch daily how fabulously wealthy athletes and celebrities lose everything and make a train wreck of their own lives even though they have piles of money. Whenever I come across such stories I always think to myself "If I had that kind of money, I'd never let myself waste it all like that", but without Wisdom from above, I would. All of us would because that kind of temptation is so strong, so seductive, that it distorts how we see reality.  It becomes impossible to see the world as it really is once you have begun to view it through the prism of incredibly fame and/or fortune. That is, unless you have become wise before that fame or fortune is thrust upon you. 

Very few of the people who read this will become fabulously rich or famous, but the need for Wisdom is still as important, because without it, we will make the same blunders and let our lives slip into meaningless waste.