Wisdom is a major backdrop for The Emotionally Authentic Christian. In the book, I note how Scripture looks at wisdom as having three components – knowledge, understanding, and obedience.
Monika Ardelt, a sociologist from the University of Florida (congrats on the national championships, my beloved Syracuse Orange won one in 2003!), has an intriguing and compelling view on wisdom that I believe shows the strong linkage between wisdom and compassion, based on the observation that compassion is love in action, and love is meeting others’ needs, not?solely my own…and that the ideal form of compassion is empathy.
This is from an article that featured her research in the Austin American-Statesman, July 16, 2007, on page E6:
“[the] qualities most often associated with [wisdom are] selflessness, compassion, objectivity, flexibility and a deep, unblinking understanding of life and human nature.”
Those with wisdom, during a crisis, distanced themselves and become the cool one, actively worked hard to cope with the challenge, and applied their own personal principles such as “never giving in to an outside force or always doing what needs to be done.”
Those without wisdom were “extremely vulnerable and defenseless when experiencing extreme hardships in life. They suffered through ordeals without trying to analyze or cope with them. They tended to believe there was nothing they could do about obstacles such as financial problems, health problems and the behavior of errant spouses.”
Notice the self-defeating beliefs (scripting) in action!
“Most dramatically, while wise individuals rarely complained and talked often and with obvious delight about the welfare of those they loved during interviews, their low-scoring counterparts much preferred to discuss themselves and their own never-ending catalog of complaints.
Self-absorption, and the unhappiness that comes with it, has become a recurring theme in Ardelt’s observations. ‘It’s striking to me just how harmful self-centeredness is to the individual.’”
How interesting. Self-centeredness is a major inhibitor to wisdom, and can lead to a ‘woe is me’ view, that is, ‘me vs. the world.’ A business partner from Spain that I met recently at a conference in Montpellier, France told me that he starts every client briefing by handing out a business-card that has the word VICTIM, with a circle and slash through it – no victims allowed. Self-centeredness encourages this victim mentality.
On the other hand, true wisdom seems to inherently show itself through internal strength within the self that is observable outside. Not through volume, of course – a Chinese proverb states “noisy outside, inside empty” – but through a consistent display of character (Rom 5:4,5).
I pray for the strength to continue to seek wisdom, including avoiding the self-centeredness that discourages its growth!
Peace…
