I read Paul’s instruction over and over again: ¹Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. It reminded me of this story someone sent me:

A young man, a university student, was walking with one of his professors who liked talking to his students and sharing his wisdom with them. As they were walking along the footpath, they saw a pair of old shoes placed neatly together next to the path. They had probably been left there by one of the gardeners working in a field nearby.

The student turned to the professor and said: “Let’s play a trick on him, let’s hide his shoes and hide in the bushes here to see what he does when he finds his shoes are gone.”

“My young friend,” said the professor, “we should never entertain ourselves at the cost of the poor. Let’s rather put a coin in each shoe and hide in the bushes and see how that discovery affects him.”

The student did what he said and then the two hid in the bushes nearby, waiting for the worker to return. Before long they saw him coming through the field towards the place where he had left his shoes.

He sat down on the grass next to the footpath and cleaned his feet with a cloth before putting on his shoes. As he slid his foot into the shoe, he felt something hard inside. He stuck his hand inside his shoe to see what it was and discovered the coin.

Surprise was clearly written on his face as he turned the coin around in his hand, making sure it was real money. He looked around to see if there was anybody in the vicinity who wanted to play a trick on him, but there was no one in sight.

He put the coin in his pocket and started putting on his other shoe. He was simply amazed to discover another coin in that shoe too. Overcome with joy the man fell on his knees, thanking God for the money that would help him put food on the table for his family that day.

The student was so deeply moved by the events he had observed that he had tears in his eyes. “Aren’t you glad you had put the coins in his shoes rather than playing a trick on him?”

The young student answered, “Thank you for the lesson you taught me; I will never forget it. Thanks to your insight, it is only now that I understand the full meaning of the words, ‘It’s much better to give than to receive’.

May God help us to keep our eyes and ears open for wisdom wherever we go. May God help us share that wisdom wherever we go. The world and its people need it very much.

Scripture
Titus 2:1-5

Reflection
Where do you need wisdom?
Where can you get wisdom?
Who do you need to help with wisdom?

Prayer
Lord, I need wisdom. I need a lot of wisdom. Amen.