The purpose of this article is to present the argument that one should at all cost pursue the acquisition of wisdom and not to have the desire to love money. Several definitions of wisdom are given: wisdom from a biblical perspective, old sayings of wisdom, wisdom from personal tragedies and wisdom in the workplace
Wisdom is sometimes incorrectly seen as knowledge. In fact wisdom is the application of knowledge. Wisdom “is living in wise ways, living in harmony with God’s creation and His laws. Wisdom is right living, good decisions, and honorable choices.” We often hear that our elders used words of wisdom, that is old sayings that helped them to discern right from wrong. In a nutshell, Wisdom is obtained by turning from simple ways, and by being committed to walking in the way of insight in our personal, family, professional and spiritual lives.
From a biblical perspective we are taught that to fear God is the beginning of wisdom. This is acknowledging and reverencing the presence and existence of God. This is the summary of the book of Proverbs that is loaded with Bible verses on the benefits of wisdom. It says that wisdom extends a person’s life as wise living helps you to make good decisions. Wisdom brings us joy, peace and prosperity. Wisdom causes one to hate evil and injustice. It protects you from falling into temptations or traps put in your path. On the other hand, Proverbs advises us that when you lack wisdom, you live foolishly causing harm to yourself and others. You are vulnerable to live in poverty. Even though you acquire riches, you do not have the wisdom to manage them effectively, so you end up losing everything. Those persons who love wisdom find life and favor from the Lord, while those who hate it are said to love death. All said and done, living wisely benefits not only yourself, but also others and helps you to have an intimate relationship with the Maker.
It is said that “there is no elevator to success; you have to take the stairs.” The shortest route to success is not always the best route because one can bypass some of life’s most important lessons. That is why I am a little concerned when some persons are promoted in leadership and management positions without the requisite training where they would obtain the knowledge and wisdom to be successful in their job function. As a human resources professional, I am always a supporter for the advancement and development of employees and people in general. However, I must admit that sometimes we set persons up for failure by promoting them too soon. Additionally, we also take highly technical persons and place them in positions of leadership without the training and acquisition of knowledge and wisdom on how to deal with people. Leadership is about empowering and inspiring others to get the best out of them. Sadly, some managers and leaders are causing havoc in the workplace. Rather than being persons leading by example and valuing their employees, they are the ones who instigate and who are the source from which problems in the workplace start. The end result is a work environment that is demotivative, has chronic absenteeism, high staff turnover – and decreased productivity exists. All these issues can be avoided if common sense approaches and wisdom were utilized in the first place.
Wisdom is also derived when persons had to overcome or endure some difficult situations or personal tragedies in life. We cannot control what happens to us, but we can control how to deal with certain situations when being strong is the only option we have at our disposal. It is said that our minds are at the sharpest when we encounter crises in our life. We often hear the term, troubles can either make you or break you. Some persons see opportunities in challenges and setbacks. They come out of them wiser and better. On the other hand, others give up too soon and allow the circumstance to control them rather than them controlling it. I am not saying that it is going to be easy. However, we must be mindful that nothing in life intentionally happens to hurt or harm you. Life’s challenges and tragedies can strengthen you or help you learn some principles of life that will undoubtedly benefit. That is why most people only take advice from persons who went through similar experiences to theirs. We call that wisdom – applied knowledge and experience.
It will be remiss of me if I did not report on the wisdom of our elders that come in the form of proverbs and old sayings. A majority of our grandparents and great-grandparents did not attend high school or even university in some cases. Yet they were wiser than most of us living contented, simple and stress-free lives. Oh! How we wish they were still around as they were the pillars of the society giving advice to all on how to discern right from wrong. I am encouraging all to discuss some of these old sayings with your children and grandchildren as they can be useful to help them deal with the challenges of today’s society where greed, materialism, instant gratification and the desire to get rich fast have become the norm. By doing so, you may be able to help them live wise, stress-free and meaningful lives. The following are a couple of our old sayings along with their meaning:
“Do not put your hat where you hand cannot reach.”
(Meaning: Don’t live a lifestyle, that you cannot afford. In other words, live within your means.)
“Cut and Contrive” (Meaning: Make do with what you have for the time being.)
“All crave, all lost” (Meaning: If you want all, you end up with nothing – Greed.)
Many people want success, but they do not want to put in the time, effort and consistent daily habits. We are so caught up with instant gratification and materialism that we are not taking time to become a person of value. Many of our young people are also comparing themselves to others. We were taught never to look at what others have because we do not know how they got it. I am also appealing to our young people not to despise small beginnings. Remember you had to creep before you walk. At each stage of your life you will gather knowledge and wisdom that will help you to be successful. Be aware of promises of get rich fast schemes and resist temptations to go after money rather than to build your value. When you become valuable the world will pay you for becoming what you were born to be. Wisdom is still better than silver and gold.
