Shakespeare said it so well. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts. . .” We are moms and dads, students and teachers. The list for each of us is almost infinite. We at times are sinners and at times saints. In my years as a pastor I have seen people do the meanest of things and a week later be generous and kind. It’s no wonder Jesus told us not to judge others. If we did, the judgments we pass down would surely be wrong. They would be tainted with our biases and loads of prejudices. Please don’t object and say you are not prejudiced. You are. I am. The challenge is to admit it and then compensate with all the fairness we can muster.
If we live long enough we get to be grandparents and I have friends who have advanced to yet the next level. Human developmentalists tell us that somewhere after 50 the wonderful quality of wisdom has an opportunity to bloom. However, we can’t count on it. Many older people never exhibit any signs of it. Foolishness knows no limits.
Proverbs 1 is a great primer on wisdom. Verse 7 tells us where wisdom begins. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Unfortunately there are those with lots of university degrees who are saturated with information, but it doesn’t make them wise. Wisdom is what we do with all that information. All the world is a stage and how grand it is to exit when one is filled with wisdom and love and gratitude for the privilege of life.
Spring Of Life