To Be Wise
Ecclesiastes 9:11-18
Wisdom is not often valued, even when it accomplishes great things.
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all. For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them. I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. There was a little city with few people in it. A great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. So I said, “Wisdom is better than might; yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded.” The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one bungler destroys much good. - Ecclesiastes 9:11-18
Would you rather be wise or famous?
I would never say that people who are famous lack wisdom, though someone might.
We say we would love to have wise leaders, but history could prove us wrong. We tend to admire what is popular and follow those whom others follow.
When I was young, I sought out the popular people around me, wanting to be their friend. It was a kind of popularity by association, I guess.
To be seen as a close friend, a buddy, of the most popular guy in school was my goal. Was that a wise choice? Hell, no.
What it did was devalue my self-worth, which carried over into my professional life for a long time. A really long time.
In the business world, being a good soldier, someone who could be depended upon by upper management, was supposed to be a path to a better life, if not greatness.
But there were fools (my assessment) who rose to the top a lot faster. Was upper management being wise in promoting them?
I was lucky, though. Circumstances being what they were, I learned that wisdom lasts longer than popularity.
Each time there was an acquisition, and in those days, acquisitions were the path to corporate success, it was those who knew something about the business who were valued higher than those who sat behind the big desks.
Not always, I know, but this is where wisdom, rather than intellect, comes in.
There is a time when letting people know what you know is the wise move, and during those periods of flux, I learned to speak up.
What is it you do here?
I built the system that allocates costs to all business units.
Oh, we need that guy.
Yes, it went something like that.
What one considers a job, a new person may consider vital.
So, what did I learn from this?
For the most part, we reward popularity. Five stars, 98 rotten tomatoes, NY Times Bestseller listing, these are all indicators of what is popular.
But what stands out is not always popular.
So, the advice from our reading today is to be wise in one regard. Know what is valued by others and what is not. Not to seek what others value, but to be able to decide for yourself what it is you want to strive for.
Would you rather be forgotten or remembered?
Put another way, would you rather a few remember you for your wisdom, or many remember you for your popularity?
Most will go with the foolish choice.
I’ll leave it to you to decide which is which.
More to come...