Monday, October 20, 2008

The Value of Walking With the Wise


"Knowing is not enough: we must apply...such is the essence of wisdom". Johann Goethe



The last few months have shown clearly that some of the smartest and highest paid men and women in the world can make horrible decisions. If these folks can't figure things out what chance does the average person have? More than you might think! Wisdom is what's missing in our world today and fortunately Wisdom is more accessible than you may think if you know where to look.

The best educational establishments today teach, to the best of their abilities, everything you need to know about science, politics, finance and economics. But as I watch the world grapple for ideas and something foundational to 'fix' crisis after crisis, I am more convinced than ever that knowledge without understanding is foolishness. It appears the brightest minds and most powerful politicians thoughts are clouded by greed and ego. This is the real crisis of leadership in out time.

In listening to politicians and economists I have realized they are partially right about what is wrong but still terribly wrong about what is right. Describing a problem will never fix it but there is no deficit in opinion makers pronouncing how we got 'here'.

Good solutions require:

Knowledge - (Great and relevant questions)
Understanding - (Skillful thinking)
Wisdom - (Truth and skillful action)

Disciplined thinking guided by wisdom lead to a "harvest of righteousness!"

Short of this combination any recipe for parenting, career, investing, giving or rescuing a globlal economy will be a temporary fix at best. The answer to a rich and full life does not rest at Fox news or in fixing the economy and electing the right candidate. Walking with the wise, begining with The book of wisdom is the beginning of what we are looking for.

May God help us and give us wisdom.

2 comments:

gileskirk said...

Tom: Excellent insights. Thank you for maintaining this blog--I feel as if I'm getting a chance to walk with the wise even as I read it.

Thomas W. Grimm, Sr. said...

Thanks George. I got the content from a very reliable source!