Wise or Unwise During 2026
A New Year to Be Wise or Foolish
My grandfather once said to me, “Boy, learn from the owl how to be wise!” Then he taught me the following ditty: “A wise old owl sat in an oak./ The more he heard the less he spoke;/ The less he spoke the more he heard./ Now that old owl was a wise old bird!” I still remember what he taught me; not that I have always put it into practice. Taking time to listen is an essential characteristic of wisdom. As a species, we refer to ourselves as “homo sapiens” – wise men. Judging by the mess the world is in that label is debatable!
What is wisdom? It’s the quality of having good judgment. Good judgment means that in our decisions we gain more than we lose, especially in the long term. Reason says that gaining is all about deepening our relationship with God. In the Bible wisdom is the divine gift which God gives His people (Is 11:2). It isn’t the same as knowledge. Wise people are necessarily knowledgeable, but knowledge in itself doesn’t guarantee wisdom. A wise person discerns right from wrong, what lasts from what’s temporary, what’s holy from what’s evil. Wisdom is always reasonable and defends the dignity and sanctity of the human person, from conception to natural death. The wise person always keeps the big picture in mind without disregarding the importance of detail. From a religious perspective a wise person is one who deepens his or her knowledge of God and bases decisions on that knowledge. The wise person has faith in God. The Holy Spirit revealed that, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov 9:10). Wisdom isn’t simply about collecting information but rather about accepting God’s authority over us and becoming holy like Him.
Wisdom in the Old Testament
Wisdom literature forms a whole segment of the Old Testament. Wisdom was considered more precious than gold and was referred to in the feminine gender. Wisdom “sings her own praises, before her own people she proclaims her glory; in the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, in the presence of His hosts she declares her worth. From the mouth of the Most High I came forth, and mist-like covered the earth” (Sir 24:1-3). Is wisdom considered feminine because women are wiser than me? Perhaps it is because the heart is an active player in wisdom. Listening must involve the heart in wise decision-making. But wisdom calls for the head and the heart to complement one another. Perhaps wisdom is referred to as feminine because the Hebrew word for wisdom is “chokmah,” which is feminine gender? The Holy Spirit reveals that wisdom is the fear of the Lord, “and avoiding evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). This “fear of the Lord” is the fear of losing faith in God who is all-wise and our only hope of salvation and happiness.
Knowledge Isn’t Wisdom
In today’s world, knowledge has expanded but wisdom has shrunk, judging by the prevalence of atheism, the displacement of God by technology and science, the disrespect for and the destruction of human life, and the persecution of the Catholic Church by enemies from both outside and inside of her structure. True discernment of right from wrong, the holy from the unholy, the lasting from the temporary can only be done through the power of God’s Spirit of wisdom, which is a divine gift. The Holy Spirit reveals that in becoming God’s children, “The spirit we have received is not the world’s spirit but God’s Spirit, helping us to recognize the gifts He has given us” (1 Cor 2:12-13). The Holy Spirit teaches us through Jesus’ Church that out of love, “… God destined us for adoption to Himself through Jesus Christ. …that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of Him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to His call, what are the riches of glory in His heritage among the holy ones” (Eph 1:3-18). It is this “spirit of wisdom and revelation” that enlightens the eyes of our hearts to see the consequences of our choices and how they affect others as well as ourselves, especially in the long term. The world’s spirit, dragged down by egotism, Satan’s lies and false promises, lacks the wisdom necessary for enlightened discernment. That is why Jesus, Lord of history and the universe, couldn’t find a welcoming place in which to be born. “He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to what was His own, but His own people did not accept Him” (Jn 1:1-18). The world, in the darkness of its fallen state, killed its only hope of salvation by crucifying Jesus on a cross. But, while it ignored His Wisdom, it couldn’t kill Him because Jesus founded His Church through which His Wisdom would faithfully enlighten people to embrace Him as their Way, Truth, and Life until the end of time.
The Opposite of Wisdom Is Foolishness
It’s bad enough to be a fool but it’s worse to be one and not know it. Foolishness is the opposite of wisdom. The world views God’s wisdom to be foolishness and considers its own foolishness to be wisdom. Look at how many scoff at the Church’s teaching thinking that they know better what is worthwhile! Is it any wonder then that evil thrives, as witnessed in the stupidity, insanity, anti-God, anti-human and irrational mentality that is evidenced in those who advocate that women can be men and men can be women, that two men or two women can marry each other, that people have a right to have themselves euthanized, that the baby in the womb is not a person? They prefer Satan’s lies to Jesus’ Wisdom which He hands on to each generation through His Church.
Don’t Be a Fool
As we begin a New Year, may we re-examine whose wisdom we’re following in our daily decisions: that of the world or that of Jesus? Because Jesus is God He is all-wise and all-knowing and present in His Church. Sadly, there are many who identify as Christian but are led by worldly beliefs rather than by Divine Revelation. They exhibit their foolishness, their lack of divine wisdom, by refusing to honour God and give Him His due through infidelity to their Baptismal vows, not raising their children in accord with the teaching of Jesus and His Church which they promised to do at their children’s Baptism, and non-attendance at Sunday Mass. They act like there is no God. The Holy Spirit tells us that, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Ps 14:1). The man or woman who rejects God also rejects His wisdom, therefore having to rely on his or her own human wisdom, which in the eyes of God is foolishness. Godless people are fools. Satan loves fools because they are easily duped by him whom Jesus described as “The father of lies” (Jn 8:44; 2 Tim 2:26; 1 Peter 5:8). With this in mind let us resolve this year to be wise by making the wisdom of Jesus Christ the foundation of our lives so that in all our decisions we will gain more than we lose. He gives us freedom, justice, love and peace both individually and communally. The other alternative is the world’s wisdom which is foolishness, making false promises, and only offers us eternal death and the eternal pain of having deprived ourselves of God’s eternal love. The choice is ours. It should be obvious to all as to what is the best choice, but it obviously isn’t! One choice is wise; the other is foolish. Which will it be? Will you and I be wise, unwise, or otherwise? (fr sean)