“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. – Confucius: (551–479 BC: was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher)

Gospel Text: (LK 7:31-35)

Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare the people of this generation?
What are they like?
They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’

For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,
and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Knowledge today, as it’s commonly considered, is thought to be facts and figures. Computers can put human persons to shame when it comes to sorting, categorizing and presenting information. While we might dispute whether facts and figures are the essence of knowledge or merely some of its components, we often educate our children according to knowledge-based systems.

What would it mean instead to educate children, and to re-form adults, according to a pattern of wisdom instead? Jesus in today’s Gospel passage hints that “wisdom is vindicated by all her children”. These curious words suggest that wisdom “educates” not according to a knowledge-based system, but according to a person-based system. Jesus teaches us that wisdom bears children; it doesn’t spit out data. Wisdom can only be understood according to a personalistic view of human life, the Gospel, and the eternal life to which Jesus wants to lead us. It’s wise for us to follow Him.