THE MOST HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY (Proverbs 8: 22-31)

Rev. Linh N. Nguyen

Euclid was one of the great Greek mathematicians. He wrote a formidable thirteen-volume text for the study of geometry. One of his students, Ptolemy I, King of Egypt, wished to learn the subject without laboring through so many books. As a king, he became acclimated to having his way made easy by his subjects. So one day he asked Euclid if there was a shortcut to master geometry. Euclid boldly replied to the king, “There is no royal road to learning.”

There are no easy ways to wisdom. Unfortunately, the term wisdom is not appreciated to the fullest in today’s world. It has been called the virtue of old age in the images of Chinese, Indian, or Middle-East wise-men passing down to next generations their sagacious sayings. But in my opinion, those sages, pundits, or masters related to wisdom through adages are actually their experience, insight, and knowledge.

One of the lessons in possessing wisdom is described like this: To look is one thing. To see what you look at is another. To understand what you see is the third. To learn from what you understand is still something else. But to act on what you learn is all that really matter.

Acting on what we have learned can help us achieve success in life. A reporter asked a bank president,

“What is the secret of your success?”

“Two words.”

“And what would they be, sir?”

“Right decisions.”

“And how do you make the right decisions?”

“Experience.”

“And how do you get experience?”

“Two words.”

“What are they?”

“Wrong decisions.”

As we see, it is a long process to archive wisdom: look, see, understand, learn, and act. And because we often tie wisdom with experience, insight, and knowledge, we think wisdom is bound to old age. Perhaps, that is not always true. Wisdom is found equally in the young. And no doubt, there are fools at all ages of life.

Suppose you own a magic lamp. Your own private genie promises to grant you anything in this world you desire. What would you ask for? Many of us would ask for wealth, good health, or happiness. How many of us would ask for the gift of wisdom?

But there was a man who had such a choice offered him by God. God appeared to King Solomon one night and said, “Make a request of me, and I will grant it to you.” Solomon answered, “Give me wisdom and knowledge to lead this people, for otherwise who could rule this great people of yours?” (2 Chronicles 1:7, 10). God was pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom rather than riches, honor, or happiness, so he granted his request.

Wisdom can be found in humankind at all stages of life, for it is a privileged gift granted by God. God’s wisdom is unique. Creating the universe and humankind was an expression of his wisdom. Psalm 104:24 states, “How varied are your works, Lord! In wisdom you have wrought them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” God put the universe in motion in such a manner that it displays not only his eternal goodness, but also his infinite wisdom. And that brings glory to him, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder’s craft” (Psalm 19:1).

In our modern age, we are under the impression that science conquers wisdom and databases replace insight. But from generation to generation, this has become more self-evident: knowledge without wisdom produces potential self-destruction. Wisdom is vitally necessary for us to understand all natural principles which determine life and the world.

Wisdom is a matter of life and death because it is more than knowledge. It is more comprehensive than mere knowledge. It can be united with knowledge, but it can also stand alone. We cannot obtain wisdom through academic learning and scientific research. Knowledge is an awareness and understanding of the facts. Wisdom is the ability to assimilate those facts to carry out a desirable purpose. Albert Einstein said, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”

Now we ask, “How can I get such wisdom?” The Book of Proverbs tells us that the first step to acquire it is the fear of God and the awareness of the Holy One. The Psalmist said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are all who live by it” (Psalm 111:10). “Fear of God” is not the psychological problem of “theophobia.” It does not command subjection to a god who piques intimidation. It is not intended that we quail before him in terror, but bow before him in awe, respect, and trust in his purposes for our lives. Without the experience of awe in the face of the mystery of life, we cannot come to the wisdom of God.

When encountering the mystery of God, we live up to the source of wisdom. We experience the limits of our being, our finitude in comparison with the infinity of God. Wisdom is acknowledgement of limits. Hence, wisdom can come to all types of people who can prove their wisdom by accepting their limits and finitude. Precisely, the wise person accepts his finitude because he knows that he is not God.      

It is hard for us to accept failure, such as a fiasco in our work. It is hard to acknowledge our error, like an embarrassing gaffe at a social event. It is hard to confess our sins to the confessor, for instance a repeated sin that we embarrassingly confess every week. Yet, when we find it in our heart to concede our limits and finitude, we are willing to face up to our failures and errors acquired by our foolishness. If we have divine wisdom, we are told that nothing can separate us from God, neither failure nor error nor guilt.

Only when we swallow our pride do we come by the wisdom of God. Humble people are those who do not think more highly of themselves than they should. They are willing to admit that they do not have all the answers and that they need to know the mind of God. They are willing to learn and are open to change. Therefore, we will enjoy God’s wisdom if we admit that we need it.

We will glory in God’s wisdom if we admit that we, as human beings, need to be saved. This salvation is a true expression of God’s wisdom. The people of the world think they can get to know God by using their own human wisdom. God knows they cannot, so in perfect wisdom, he has provided for mankind to know him through his only Son. It seems ridiculous to unbelievers to think God’s Son should have to die on a cross to pay the penalty for man’s sin. But that fact is really the heart of God’s wisdom. Through it, God manages to deliver humankind from their bondage of sin and bring them into a good relationship with him.   

God’s wisdom is also expressed in our vocational choices. God has mapped out the course of our lives in order to archive his perfect end and bring the greatest glory to himself. Having God’s wisdom does not necessarily mean we will know why God allows certain things to happen to us. It simply means that we will know the right thing to do in each situation consistent with the will of God. For this reason, we can manage to refrain from fear of adversities happening in our lives when we do not understand their reasons. We can trust God in the dark places of life, because he knows the way through the darkness.

Our human life is so fragile and uncertain. It is on again, off again and often confronts us with questions. We sometimes get ourselves into a catch-22 situation where we do not know which way to turn or what action is best to take. We need God’s wisdom to guide us in facing a quagmire of confusion, for God is the master of every situation.     

We can pray to God for wisdom when we face a knotty problem, a difficult decision, or a pressing emergency. God is generous in giving his wisdom to us. Regardless of how big or how little the matter may be, he invites us to ask him for wisdom.

Finally, how can we distinguish between divine wisdom and human wisdom when we are exercising it? Saint James gave us a salutary instruction, “The wisdom from above is first of all pure, peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy, and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity.” Here is God’s standard for measuring his wisdom. When we begin to get our wisdom from him, our homes will be happier, our lives more effective, and our God greatly glorified.

Rev. Linh N. Nguyen