I think Proverbs 9 perhaps the more lyrical and poignant for thoughts and truths about wisdom, but Ecclesiastes also has some "wise" points to be made. I decided both are good to read and to reflect upon your gift of Wisdom! (And with a holy envy, I guess we could call it, or desire to follow in your footsteps, I ride along with trying to examine your wisdom in light of the gift of God that it is, and to hope for some selfish tips on the matter!)
It truly does seem as if wisdom is an invitation, and you either consciously or subconsciously accepted a long time ago, and have grown in wisdom as the gift has enriched and mellowed to a fine beauty, with outstanding effect in you and your life, and enhances your words and actions and your essence for those of us around you.
Accepting and living with wisdom increases understanding--understanding of the ways and view of God, understanding how God perceives and interacts with His creation. It then increases one's own understanding of God's understanding of mortals and our human dilemmas and condition.
So the wisdom of not spending time and energy in correcting the arrogant or reproving the wicked, is WISE...! Even if it might seem as if there is good or righteousness in correcting the arrogant, the proud do not see their wrongs; and this is true of deep-rooted personality disorders as well as outright chosen arrogance and wrong-thinking and wrong-action.
It is true that to reprove the arrogant brings anger and resentment; and that surely must be due to arrogance being linked to pride, not humility. But to reprove or instruct the wise--it is said that they become wiser and are most grateful. This must be due to wisdom's necessary substance of humility; humility is a major ingredient in wisdom (as is love, of course--wise love, humble love, God's type of love which is not as we most often consider love).
So we come to the point that you are very humble, or you would not have such wisdom. And since I've arrogantly started to consider my "self", selfishly, in the thoughts on wisdom as a main attribute of your life both temporally and spiritually, I know what is needed in order for wisdom to be gifted, and also for wisdom to be enacted as a natural, Holy Spirit gift in daily life. Humility!
The line I find fascinating, a type of spiritual conundrum of which I'd love insights and answers is this: "The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord...." And this has been a pondering point for me for years! Way back right after the divorce and car accident and in first weeks in the house I was finally able to provide for my children. I had a night visitor and locution and was told: The beginning of wisdom...." Just that. And I found this verse, then, but could not seemingly break through.
But now I see that fear of the Lord is not just awe of the Lord's power and might and all-knowing; fear of the Lord requires the person to be HUMBLE. It is in being humble before the Lord, to have a kind of humble "fear", a humble "awe", that must precede or begin the process of being able to receive the gift of wisdom.
"Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." That is one to ponder now, and it takes wisdom, undergirded and presupposed in humility, to know God and to thus understand God's view, His ways, His will, and even to grasp His love.
Without wisdom, though, these other gifts are slowed or precluded; so wisdom is a necessary gift, and those such as you who are given it and accept and cooperate humbly with such a gift as wisdom, then progress in knowledge of God and in understanding. And as is so truly stated, the wise continue to learn, and wisdom increases and grows in them.
I must assume, also, that humility grows, as well. The wise person is increasingly humbled and humble. God is so much guiding your life as He does all lives, but by God alone are the years added and the years of life increased. So true! And also, wisdom is a great advantage, adding to the life of one who is wise and benefitting those around you; and it is true that if not wise, the life of the arrogant is lived out as such, and no one else is asked to endure it. Wisdom understand and appreciates positivity; arrogance struggles with negativity.
As for Ecclesiastes 9, it reminds of a motivational speech by Lou Holtz. [I will try to find it online and share the link.] Anyway, God offers everyone without discriminating, and we all have opportunity spiritually and also in our choices and attitudes, and in the spiritual gifts that God gives. So the bad and the good may receive certain gifts that to our ways of viewing and thinking maybe do not seem fair. And the same with temporal situations, the good and the bad can be in various situations in life when we might think only the bad ought have "bad" things happen.
To "live" is to live with hope and to choose joy in life, no matter the circumstances; and otherwise is a type of death, or living death. The wise choose life. And in this sense, Jesus truly is the way, the truth, and the life. We see how He lived on earth. Even though in a flesh and bone body, He lived in Spirit, in God, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The example of the ruler who made well-known his life achievements and wealth and whatever else, is compared to the humble (poor--poor in spirit, poor in temporal ways, or poor as in not well-known) one who had wisdom, and lived wisdom quietly in life.
Then it is stated that the words of the wise are better heeded than the words of the shout of the ruler of fools--and I suppose this is true over the long run of life and after. For it does seem that sometimes as was said also, the wise person is overlooked or not as noticed as the one who is forceful and extravagant.
In all, though, the person who has the gift of wisdom walks in God's path; and the one without, sooner or later, will feel the lack and loss; and those who desire God will be drawn and influenced more by the wise person even if the ones more on a temporal path and that of earthly pride are seemingly distracted and follow after the brash, the showy, the worldly famous or such.
Anyway, your being blessed and gifted and fully cooperative with wisdom, has also given much to ponder and much rejoicing over this gift! Thus, I rejoice in you, as well, for you could have chosen otherwise and not allowed humility through all the means from which humility is offered, and that usually through suffering. But somehow wisdom is in play all along for the humble to be wise enough to choose humility over pride....
In thinking about wisdom and those who are wise and exemplify wisdom, come to mind those who seemingly imitate having wisdom. I suppose there is a type of imitation wisdom that one puts on like imitation fur or imitation leather--less costly, faster to produce, and also though not enduring. It is worn for the occasion, or even for the life of the person wearing it; but there is a difference that can be detected such as can be in false humility. It may serve us people well, this imitation wisdom, in the temporal matters and world, but there is a striking difference in holy wisdom which is noted in the spiritual perhaps at times to our difficulty in detecting it, due to the distraction of the temporal.
Holy wisdom then is distinguished some from imitation or seemingly temporal wisdom. Holy wisdom would cover both, I'd think. Imitation is only that of temporal. Thus many errors in guiding others can be made regarding the spiritual by those who do not possess holy wisdom but instead have temporal or imitation type wisdom.
There is an old book, titled "Holy Wisdom," by Dom Baker, that I had two copies and had given away one. I have not read my copy, and it has been boxed for nearly five years. [J] read his copy, though, several years ago and said it was good. Of course, it is not written in contemporary style; but I think I should locate that book and read it....
I also add that a person with holy wisdom would not be duped as easily as I am! My desire to trust and believe and stick up for some without being wise--and listening to God is crucial in wisdom--are evidence of some of my foolishness!
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Thursday, September 28, 2017
Catholic Hermit: More Birthday Novena Thoughts on Wisdom
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