REAL WISDOM

 REAL WISDOM 

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise. – 1 Corinthians 3:18

Do you consider yourself wise? Wisdom is as tricky as humility. If you think and proclaim you are wise or humble, then you are not.

I believe real wisdom is neither about earning degrees nor knowing about everything like Google. According to the verse above, real wisdom is knowing that you do not know everything.

In the Gospel today, Simon humbly followed Jesus’ suggestion to cast the nets on the other side after spending almost the entire night catching nothing. This makes perfect sense if Jesus was a seasoned fisherman imparting valuable advice to a newbie fisherman. But that wasn’t the case. Jesus was a carpenter! And Simon wasn’t a newbie. He was a veteran fisherman. He had years of experience under his belt. To add to that, this was his first encounter with Jesus. Maybe Simon thought to himself, “What if I am wrong? What if Jesus’ suggestion works?” So he tried and caught many fish.

May we be like Simon who was humble enough to admit that he didn’t know everything. Real wisdom starts with humility—admitting that we need God and others. We may not have all the answers in this life but at least we know Who has them all. Velden Lim (veldenlim@gmail.com)

Reflect: “When you think you are always right; probably you are wrong.” (John Cruz)

Jesus, may I always trust in Your ways and infinite wisdom. Your foolishness is better than human wisdom. Amen.

St. Gregory the Great, pope and Doctor of the Church, pray for us.