Wisdom is defined as the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.
Last night I had dinner with a friend, and we talked about things from the past and how life had changed us over the years. How we have been molded into the people we are today comes from life experiences. We have lived through betrayal, broken hearts, illness, surgeries, employment, dismissals, broken friendships, weddings, divorce, births, and deaths. Through it all, we kept a light that shone boldly at times and flickered dimily through other seasons of life.
Tonight, the reality of life and this light and its impact on us is very real. The preciousness of life is very real. We chuckled about the dreams that never came true because they weren’t meant to come into fruition. It would have changed the course of our journey. The expectations of riches and notoriety became less important because we replaced shallowness with wholeness.
When we talk about riches and recognition today, we want our character to be recognized as kind, loving, giving, and compassionate. We want our riches to be shown by the people we surround ourselves with in life. We want to pass on our experiences and lessons learned. As we laughed and talked, we went into educator mode and asked the questions, How do you receive wisdom? How do you know that you have wisdom? Is wisdom something that everyone acquires? How do we impart wisdom? To a younger generation of students? To a group that thinks it is overrated and unnecessary? To a group that wants it but doesn’t know how to receive it?
Wisdom. The nugget of knowledge that makes life a little easier, a little simpler, a little more manageable. “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” Proverbs 19:20.
The school year is over. Graduation is a past memory. Summer fun should begin, but today over 100 students will return for summer school. These are students that failed an academic course(s) throughout the year or those who made a failing grade high enough to qualify to do online recovery in order to gain credit for the class. Teachers have shared advice and tried to encourage students to put forth their best effort throughout the school year. The response that teachers often get from students: “Why are you sweating me? Yeah, I know. We are a different generation. I’m just not motivated. That stuff you’re talking about happened in the Dark Ages. Why do adults always try to talk about what you did when you were our age?” Wow! Educators are only trying to get young people to understand that education is a foundational piece to who they will or hope to become. Setting expectations and committing to having a work ethic develops character. Trying to be helpful and giving insight, teachers create a dialogue with students about character, ethics, perseverance, and effectiveness based off of the past, life experiences, and educational situations. How do these conversations resonate with students?
We have to realize that oftentimes students hear much more than they are willing to acknowledge. As rebellious as some try to present themselves, they actually surprise us years later when they repeat the piece of wisdom that we tried to give them. We may get a card or an email that says the advice given has served them well. As this entry is being written, a student completed the summer assignment and said that the mistake made during this school year would not be made again. YES! This is when we become pleasantly surprised and know that they are growing and will pass pearls of wisdom to the next generation or even the next class. “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.” Proverbs 3:13-14. We find that age, maturity, and reflection sometimes brings wisdom. Inevitably, every student will not accept or heed the advice that’s being given to them, and there are doomed to be casualties along the way. It’s just a reminder about the wisdom that has been passed down through the years by older generations to us, especially grandmothers who would say, “You live and you learn. Sometimes you just have to let some people learn for themselves.” Proverbs 13:29 says, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”
So, we have to ask ourselves what makes younger students so resistant to accepting words of wisdom from an older generation? What makes them take on a mentality that it’s them against us? How do we break those barriers that limit the acceptance of wise words and counsel? As we navigate through the generation, it is often external factors that fuels this line of thought. Perhaps it is the examples set by the older people in their lives. Perhaps it is communication failure. Perhaps it the lack of establishing boundaries. Or there is the absence of faith and the failure to hear God’s voice. So where does wisdom begin? With the knowledge of God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7
My friend and I concluded that wisdom is acquired through the teachings of others, through life experiences, and experiencing and listening to God. We know that we have acquired wisdom by the way we respond, by the advice we give, and by the level of patience we have amassed over the years. Wisdom is the pearl that leads to great intuition, insight, and life. It’s the treasure that is meant to be given and passed forward.
By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth. Proverbs 24:3-7.
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