One Does Not “Become” Wise
I had to laugh. Well, it was more of a chuckle. The kind when you have seen something so outrageous you just have to grin. I had opened an email from a young man who had worked for me until recently. I began to read what was the most vicious rant and diatribe imaginable. In short, I am hard pressed to think of a time I was so maligned and disrespected.
Having finished reading, I sat back and asked myself a question I have asked myself many times. “What would be the wise response to this?” The answer was obvious. A wise man would NOT respond. What would have been the point? Again, I chuckled. I closed the email and moved on.
If I have learned anything, it is that I am capable of being as big a fool as one can imagine, and at the same time there is to be found in me a modicum of good sense — okay, wisdom. This is true of all of us. But you don’t just become wise. It is against our nature. It is something you fight for. Pride, ego, and various base emotions pull us toward the foolish. My lesser man wanted to respond to the young man. Wisdom can only come from knowledge, understanding, self-control, and a conscious desire to rise above being a fool. It isn’t easy. If it was, we would all think and behave wisely.
Okay, that’s enough for now. Y’all git on outta here.
