The Bible often mentions ‘wisdom,’ but what does it mean to live according to wisdom?
There are three kinds of wisdom. The first and simplest kind is the wisdom of governing our actions in life, or prudential wisdom. According to this kind of wisdom, we build habits conducive to living our vocation well. These habits often include waking up on time in the morning, eating moderately, having a healthy exercise routine and performing our work with excellence and concentration (rather than wasting time on screens and entertainment). All of these habits point to a life that is well governed by wisdom. This is the most basic kind of wisdom — natural human wisdom and virtue.
The second kind of wisdom is relational wisdom. Often, if you find yourself calling a good friend or a parent, you are seeking out relational wisdom. Perhaps you are discerning a new dating relationship, considering a career change or considering where you might go to high school. Relational wisdom offers a deeper perspective about how human relationships unfold over the course of life’s journey. This relational wisdom also pertains to the hard questions of human life: What is the nature of grief when I encounter death? What does it mean to really forgive after someone has hurt me? All of this pertains to the second kind of wisdom, which we can broadly say is relational wisdom.
The third is God’s wisdom. God’s wisdom comes when we learn to trust in Him and find our security in Him in the most profound fashion. Psalm 14 says, “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God above, and his deeds are depraved and corrupt.” The greatest foolishness is to turn from the mercy of God. We have an all-powerful, all-loving God who desires relationship with us and to take care of us in every circumstance. Yet we in our foolishness can turn from Him. Therefore, the greatest wisdom is allowing ourselves to be embraced and transformed by God’s mercy. A deep receptivity to divine mercy occurs when a person engages the sacraments with intentionality and attentiveness and prays about the hard joys, the sorrows, the anxieties, the grudges and the fears of life. One becomes truly wise when there is a deep relational sharing of our inner life with God.
Divine wisdom bestows simplicity and peace upon a soul. It shapes all the other kinds of wisdom. When there is this deep sharing with God, we naturally begin to live a well-ordered life and we begin to grow in a clear perception of the nature of human relationships. My friends, seek God’s mercy, and in so doing, you will become wise.
Father Charlie Archer is parochial vicar of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.
