Wise or Clever

‘Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. ‘ (Proverbs 3:13-17)

S. Chesterman in his article ‘Why study’, thinks that when one chooses a course of study, it is better to be guided by passion than other reasons such as what the parents wanted him to be or on financial potential. It is true that good universities may be good at educating clever people but do not necessary make them wise.

The dictionary defines ‘wise’ as having or showing experience, knowledge, and makes good judgment. Hence the main difference between wise and clever lies in the words ‘good judgment’. Wisdom often gains from within oneself over time as a person takes responsible choices in life. I agreed that we have to have passion in everything we do as it is a very strong motivational force that keeps us going in the long run. If we look around us, it is a kind of sad to see quite a handful of people ended up in careers that they ‘hated’. Imagine how many more people would have added to this category if all the bright students got into their dream course of study (business administration) and dream career (banking) shortly before Lehman Brothers debacle!

One needs courage to carry out what he thinks it is wise as it may even look foolish in the eyes of many. I still remember my pre-university school mate who made the ‘unthinkable’ decision at that point of time, to switch from science stream to arts stream. He went on to become a very successful lawyer.

A story is told about a wise elderly woman who has a beautiful bird named Agape. One day, two young men decided to break into her house while she was away and steal her bird. When she returned, they would approach her and say, “Old woman, we have your bird. Is it dead or alive?” If the old woman replied “dead,” they would open their hands and let the bird fly away. If the old woman replied “alive,” they would crush the bird and drop it at the feet of the elderly woman. Just as the two young men planned, they approached the elderly woman and said, “Old woman, we have your bird. Is it dead or alive?” The wise, elderly woman paused a moment and looked at the ground. Then, she answered slowly,” I don’t know….The only thing I know is that it is in your hands. It is in your hands.”

We too hold in our hands the consequences of our own decisions. We have to take responsibility not just for the good choices, but also for the poor choices.