Aspects of Wisdom

While we can acquire knowledge through books and other educational material, wisdom is more than obtaining knowledge. The more we know, the more we realize how much we do not know. Wisdom can develop from knowledge gained through an intellectual exercise, facts, evidence or statistics that provide specific answers. Wisdom is the way we interpret them for the good of humanity is what counts. Science can explain many things, but it has limits. We cannot understand everything through a scientific method that involves hypotheses, observations, measurements, tests, and replications. A person who knows much is not necessarily wise. Albert Einstein wrote, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” There are people who know a great deal and can be dangerous fools. We can be dangerous fools when we do not know how to use the tools we have for constructive ends in accordance with God’s providence. 

Correct use of knowledge can evolve into wisdom. Knowledge is the accumulation of data and facts. Wisdom is to know how to use data and facts to achieve a good purpose. Wisdom, aided by grace, puts our time and our knowledge into proper Christian use. For us as Christians, the greatest wisdom is knowing our end of life goal, then using the objects of creation, and the time we have on earth, to attain that goal for ourselves and others.  When we strive to learn how to use knowledge rightly, we grasp the elements of wisdom within what we know.  

Wisdom has two areas in which it can expand. We can become wise in the ways of the world. This means a world without God, and where self gratification has first priority. It leads to sin, the defamation or loss of the dignity of others and of ourselves. Pseudo wisdom is anything that feeds living for ourselves alone. Sins can easily become rationalized habits when they are supported by societal trends. “All about me” is driven by, and focuses on, daily selfish wants of an enlarging ego, made visible by crude language, social media overuse, sensual gratification, divisions, addictions, or anything else that enhances self indulgence. The more selfish wants cry for attention, the more time and money they will consume.     

Romans 8:5 tells us, “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” Bishop Fulton Sheen advises us: “There are . . . two kinds of wisdom: wisdom of the flesh and the wisdom which God gives. One is very often opposed to the other. The first would say this is the only life there is, therefore, we should get all we can out of it. The other sees that this life is a kind of scaffolding up through which we climb to eternal happiness; it will, therefore, be so used as a ladder to the mansions of the heavenly Father. But this Divine Wisdom comes only to those who have qualifications for receiving it, and, as was pointed out above, one of the first conditions is good behavior. As our blessed Lord said, ‘If any man will do my will, he will know my doctrine.’” Bishop Sheen goes on to say, “Have not the great geniuses of all time confessed that after years of study they were still ignorant of truth, and that they seemed to stand merely on the shore of truth with its infinite expanse stretching before them? How often too, study in old age corrects the prejudices of youth, and how often those who have come to mock have remained to pray.” As Christians, we recognize and meet the needs of our existence, but know there is something more. True wisdom comes to the fore when we focus on God and strive to live the teachings of Jesus.  

Wisdom opens our eyes to the value of substance over fashion, character and integrity over charm and popularity, purity over immorality, and forthrightness over deception. Wisdom can surprise us by appearing at unexpected times and in strange places. A bit of wisdom can come from us that we never expected to say. Wisdom is at work when we are slower than usual to reach a conclusion because we take time to ponder words and experiences in order to understand a situation more fully. We go beyond the immediate and apparent need of the moment by pondering possible consequences. We ask clarifying questions and avoid quick or sharp responses to preserve harmony. Gems of wisdom strengthen unity in the human family. Walking on the wisdom trail keeps us open to people as they are, rather than what we expect them to be. As we move along, we strive to practice Christian compassion when dealing with others, especially those who are close to, or different from, us. When someone has hurt us, a true mark of wisdom is to try to understand their situation instead of hurting them back. 

Most importantly, wisdom strengthens our soul so we never give up hope, even during times when we feel devastated and only have tears for prayer.  Christian faith is more than an accumulation of rules, pious legends, emotional highs, intellectual concepts, dark nights, or religious experiences. Christianity is ever learning in the school of Jesus, and living what we learned in our daily lives. The teachings of Christ remain consistent even though we do not feel them, fully understand them, or know how to adequately express them. Christianity is an ever deepening reality of the heart that reveals itself in who we are and sustains us through the good, bad, joys, sorrows, delights, tragedies, and all the incongruences and paradoxes each day of our lives. Jesus is the one who holds us together when we feel fragmented by suffering or negative events. He can uncover an inner reserve we never knew we had.   

The Source

Jesus is the font of wisdom. As people of God we are taught to fear the Lord of all wisdom. Because he is also the Lord of all love and mercy, fear does not have the meaning it has today. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom since fear means respect and reverence for the Lord. When we begin to understand God’s love, respect evolves into reverence and reverence deepens into an unutterable awe. Through Jesus, wisdom is a word of manifold splendor that can enrich our lives with beauty, strength, trust, and confidence in God. In the Bible, wisdom refers to the personification of God’s wise dealings with, and plan for, the human race manifest by both creation and redemption. In the Book of Wisdom, we read, “Wisdom is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.” (7:25-26) And with the grace of wisdom, we pray:

God give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Amen.