Wise people value wisdom above all for it is the source of peace in the midst of information chaos. Knowledge now doubles every six months, and this overwhelming barrage of information makes it increasingly difficult to discern what has lasting value. However, by holding to principles of wisdom that have withstood the test of time, our future-shocked culture can survive.
Jesus, Buddha, King Solomon, and Socrates, all revered as exceptionally wise men of the ancient world, have some particularly relevant thoughts for our present age. They all agree that wisdom is more precious than money or anything else you could desire because it is the source of all truly good things. Wisdom, not information, is what is ultimately important.
Studying wisdom cross-culturally reveals seven key principles.
1. God Exists. Many scientists, including Einstein, believe that anyone who pursues science with their whole heart inevitably comes to the conclusion that there must exist an Intelligence behind everything that is vastly superior to the human mind.
God constitutes the source, sustenance, and goal of all things whether in the scientific age, information age, new age, or any age. The wisdom literature of western religion repeats over and over “The fool says in their heart ‘There is no God’”.
2. Accept Your Humanity. The three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, agree that the ancient message of the Garden of Eden remains true: all our problems begin with pride, with denying our place in the scheme of things, with wanting to be like God.
Through the Internet we have fifty million computers at our fingertips. This gives us the god-like quality of instant knowledge about anything, which can tempt us to think we have all the answers and are, in fact, God. Bloated with information, we have no room for wisdom.
False pride easily blinds us to our limitations, creatureliness, and humanness, but all major religions agree that the essence of wisdom consists in forgiving yourself for being human. If the first principle of wisdom is “There is a God”, the second one is “You are not God”. If pride causes all our problems, humility, that is, accepting our humanity, is the solution.
3. All Wisdom Comes From God. King Solomon states over and over that wisdom begins and ends with recognition of God’s supreme wisdom. You may not understand things, but God does. Similarly Socrates maintains that intellectual humility marks the first quality of the wise person: the realization that you lack wisdom and do not have all the answers. The wise listen much more than they speak.
4. All Things Pass Away Except God. Like Jesus, Buddha taught that everything passes away, and sorrow derives from putting too much stock in this world.
The epidemic of depression in our culture stems, at least partly, from ever-accelerating change in which we constantly lose people, things, lifestyles, and beliefs we had clung to. Instant access to infinite information has only sped up the change/loss process. Many find they cannot keep up.
Therefore, hold everything lightly: your health, spouse, children, friends, job, wealth, reputation, ambitions, ministry, and theology, for they all inevitably change. Wisdom teaches that true joy and peace comes from clinging only to God, for God alone lasts.
5. Purify Your Desires. God wants lasting love, truth, and peace but the commercialization of the Internet places all the treasures, pleasures, and temptations of the world before us in an unprecedented way. We must use the great gift of this technology wisely, to bring us what is truly good and life-giving rather than the ever-increasing hawking of earthly wares and human bodies.
6. Wisdom Means Compassion. Christ exhorted us to love our enemies. Similarly, Buddha stated that compassion, even for adversaries, arises when we realize the suffering of all beings. Many people have become news addicts and, through an endless parade of woe in the media, anesthetized to other peoples’ pain. However, in spite of “compassion fatigue” we still need to reach out and try to comfort those who are suffering.
7. Wisdom Sees the Oneness of All Things. Wisdom thinks constantly in terms of unity, and realizes that whatever we do to others we do to ourselves. Therefore it always strives to create community and to take care of all people, creatures, and the Earth. Social and environmental justice are natural outflows of wisdom. The information age tends to fragment people into ever smaller interest groups. We need to use the world wide web to bring people with divergent views together in dialogue.
In conclusion, there are three main ways to gain wisdom: pray for it, study it, and imitate it. Every major religion has a body of wisdom literature, a collection of reflections of its founders, greatest saints, and prophets whose lives can be emulated. In particular , we could all grow spiritually by imitating Jesus, who is considered by Christians to be the Wisdom of God in the flesh. Only by following the wisdom of the ancients will we transform the information age into an age of true peace and love.
Bruce Tallman is a spiritual director and educator of adults in religion. http://www.brucetallman.com.
Intelligent Christian Spirituality 