From a young age, many of us were told by our parents to study hard and excel in school. Even our teachers would sometimes pay extra attention to those students who were bright or hardworking, since these were the students who were obedient and were serious in their studies. When we went for higher studies, some of us may have been reminded by our parents to “study hard, work hard, don’t break your parents hearts” (a so called idiom I recall hearing a few times, but have no clear idea where it originated from). But all these efforts in doing well and succeeding in life, are they an indication that a person would be wise? Sometimes we come across people who we consider wise but who may not be so highly educated, or may not be wise according to the expectations of the world, but we say that they are wise in a different way. In fact, can anyone really claim to be wise?
In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “Make no mistake about it: if any one of you thinks of himself as wise, in the ordinary sense of the word, then he must learn to be a fool before he really can be wise. Why? Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As scripture says: The Lord knows wise men’s thoughts: he knows how useless they are; or again: God is not convinced by the arguments of the wise. So there is nothing to boast about in anything human…” As humans, our so called wisdom is limited. We could claim to be wise to a certain extent, but we may not be so wise in the eyes of God. That is why we should not think too highly of ourselves, since all our wisdom, knowledge, abilities and skills ultimately come from God. Instead, let us remain humble and always be thankful to God for the many gifts and talents He has given us, and use such gifts and talents for His greater glory.