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Dear Believer,
Be encouraged and seek comfort in the arms of sacred knowledge, as your challenges are not fruitless. Your path through sorrow and torment can transform into a deep well of understanding and spiritual abundance.
That seems easy enough to understand, even if not exactly what one might have learned in school. That wise people are insightful is consistent with the popular view of wisdom. What might be harder to understand is the second part of the definition of insight—making sense of the world. That is not at all the same as saying insightful people understand the world. Rather, it is saying that insightful people help the rest of us understand our world by their acts of entrepreneurship and charismatic leadership. They illuminate common, familiar facts with a valued splash of innovative vision. Wisdom might not be about having that creative spark—all the time—but it certainly is about having the capacity for making sense of the world.
Insight and wisdom are close kin—though not quite the same. Wisdom is broad and deep, an understanding marked by years of trial and observation. By contrast, insight is the flash of intuitive understanding that anchors new knowledge into the bedrock of wisdom’s understanding. Wise people are steeped in the art of wise decision-making, but only occasionally do they have an insight that resonates broadly. When intuition fails to bless a wise person with an inspiring vision or profound breakthrough, then all that remains is the amassing of data.
So we see that Jehovah’s precious, unearthly wisdom is spoken of here as having to be hunted for, having to be dug for as for silver, as for hidden treasures. How much effort do you and I make to dig out the storehouse of this wisdom and insight and knowledge of Jehovah and his principles as it is contained in the Bible and Bible literature? Look at how much effort is made to dig out and store up temporary wealth, perishable savings in the form of World War bonds, Treasury savings bonds, and homeowners’ savings as down payments on a fine new car or on a home, thus expressing little real faith in the New World. Why? Because experience has proved that this system of things is not trustworthy. Even if we live through this time of trouble, the high cost of living, due to war debts and taxes, or else to a crash of the present economic system, can so deflate these savings that they will suffice for little else but to serve as wallpaper.
Let us consider some of the reasons why wisdom’s wealth, divine insight, is so vital to those of us who are interested in administering Jehovah’s law in this New World society in connection with our work as family heads, as Christian ministers, and as elders in the Christian congregation. The importance of divine wisdom in our lives can be compared to that of breathing in air, especially in a room where there is very little air or if you were locked up in a small airtight compartment. Now is wisdom, divine insight, really that important? It is that important, for it is here related at Proverbs 2:3-5: “If, moreover, you call out for understanding itself and you give forth your voice for discernment itself, if you keep seeking for it as for silver, and as for hidden treasures you keep searching for it, in that case you will understand,” [so far is it that you will become understanding.]
Wisdom finds benefits in personal growth. Personal development, enlightenment, and growth are the fruit of anxiety, trial, and tears, over which meditation holds its harp, drawing from distress sweet solace beyond words. With the assistance and power of Spirit insight and interpretation, meditation dances through troubles and over obstacles of existence, while alternating music with pauses that are filled with the accent of appealing tones. At every pause, announcement is made of blessing that is in store even beyond the conception of human understanding – it is the anticipated great privilege of access into God’s family of spirit sons with full estate of joint-heirship with his Son. We are called and stand before this privilege, seeing in our earthly calling the needful preparation of heart and deliberation for worthiness of so high a favor. So great is this privilege, that no sooner than it is recognized in all of its possible exceeding glory can human meditation realize it again, in its eager explorations and rest on it in appreciative contemplations. Our acknowledgment expresses itself on the same keynote, inquiring, “what is man” which God thus recognizes him, girded with a freedom of action in his own limited sphere of almighty power? The answer to this query is, “the touchstone is wisdom.” Without this marvelous faculty, free-agency lapses into limited intelligence, and prowess into arrogance and wanton devastation.
Earlier in this short exposition, we learned that by the instrumentality of virtues, but especially humility, a soul has to lay the foundation for building the bridge. Wise St. Sebastian will teach us directly that humility among the companions is also a virtue. Therefore, humility is the very foundation and basis of our bridge, by which we shall climb to the heaven of heavens. The teacher is himself the bridge. To the vision of the pure of heart, he is himself all beauty and wisdom. He is himself the way, the truth, and the life, that is, the wisdom of the Father. Lord, grant us the grace of penetrating and embracing this wisdom. For the sake of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we may then arrive at the age of spiritual maturity. Amen.
As mentioned was made in the previous section, St. Sebastian truly is a stream of wisdom. And it is worth mentioning that he does not merely call wisdom along with her companions – justice, fortitude, temperance, and prudence – virtues, but rather, he calls them the mothers of virtues. Mother is the one by which all things are nourished and sustained. And he also says that by the harmony of virtues, humility is the offspring. It is worth noting that his teaching occurs in one of his homilies, which are called the Anglo-Saxon homilies. And just as in the book of Proverbs, beloved readers, consider the word of the teacher, of whom our Saviour says: “The scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven, brings out of his treasure, things new and old.”
At the very same time as wisdom reveals the moral laws, hidden mysteries, and divine secrets of faith, it helps humanity to understand the nature of reality and how things operate in the world that is visible and material. It opens their eyes to the world of theology and the workings of divine grace as well as illuminates the genuine values that consist of unshakeable truth, immortality, and peace. These are the kinds of truths and genuine values that guide and govern society and politics correctly and that enable public authorities and individuals to correctly interpret the economic, social, and cultural needs of their times. Associated with God’s mercy, wisdom realizes the duties of justice, responsibility, and solidarity in citizens who are capable of embracing the collective good of the human community.
For believers of various faith traditions, wisdom is a very complex and profound gift from God. It is the type of perfection that encompasses all the others because devoutly possessing wisdom necessarily implies having charity, hope, faith, patience, and love, among other virtues. Such is the case because wisdom is not just a matter of acquiring facts and knowledge but also of understanding deeply the moral laws of the universe and the God who issued those laws. Additionally, wisdom enables virtuous individuals to understand the world in a moral and spiritual sense, to interpret the signs of the times, and to infuse Christ’s love into the structures of society. Such spiritual insight allows the wise good to direct humanity onto the path of salvation and then enables those on this path to help speed up their spiritual progress. With her richly endowed possession, people are able to detect Satan’s diabolical schemes, to expose the seductive temptations of the world, and to avoid these.
To maintain our conscious communion with God, the Absolute, it is necessary for us to possess a consciousness deep enough and wide enough to be able to express His divine attributes, qualities of character, in full, clear, balanced, and harmonious measures—especially love and wisdom. Only the expression of these ennobling divine powers in our daily lives can provide the transcendent proof that we really are His Sons and that His nature, Himself in His divine immanence, abideth as our very own nature. In his words, deeds, and character, true man should become so aligned, so compatible with Divine Goodness and Wisdom, that at any time either one is expressed through him, the other also, to a degree, is expressed. The man of practical spirituality, therefore, ceases not his personal efforts to establish, through divine insight, right contact with God-Spirit within and right adjustments to divine tributaries of wisdom and knowledge. Such is the man whose deep, practical spirituality is the mark of his true and praiseworthy nature; such is the man who makes life progress toward a saner and safer life in harmony with divine purposes.
To be truly Christ-like means remaining one with, or being inseparable from, God-Spirit, the Absolute. The quality of Christ-likeness, or being God-like, in and through any individual, indicates the extent of the working of the Christ principle—even the dawning of the Christ-consciousness—in that individual. The God-Spirit within each of us, being infinite wisdom, loves man far too much to give him or her foolishness. The knowledge and wisdom from within are man’s legitimate heritage by divine bequest. We can receive of this Theanthropic Bequest only through unclogged channels—otherwise the blessings must be held back for our protection.
Lift your heart to the heavens in prayer.
Let these words be your comfort:
Divine Father, I appeal to You during a difficult time. Please give me the resilience to face my challenges and the insight to comprehend Your intentions. Infuse my heart with optimism and lead me with Your heavenly illumination.
May Your tranquility surround me, and may Your affection uphold me. Amen.
Keep in mind, beloved follower, that with knowledge and belief, you have the power to change your pain into a deep quest for spiritual growth. Your challenges are the vessel in which your spirit is purified, and from them, you will become more resilient and connected to the sacred.
Peace and blessings,
Saint Sebastian
Jesus has prepared something extraordinary for those ready to take the next step in faith and abundance. With this gift, you’ll discover renewed hope, prosperity, and the strength to overcome life’s greatest challenges.