WISDOM IS ALWAYS IN SEASON
When I was a child, I saw the world in black and white. Things were either good or evil and the battle was always to choose good and avoid evil. That is the right way to teach children to think morally. It is simple and straightforward and builds a solid foundation for a child’s heart and mind.
But that is only the starting place, not the finish line. As we mature, we find that the world is much more complicated than mere black and white. The great challenge in the real world isn’t the choice between good and evil, but between competing, clashing goods, when none of the options are in and of themselves morally evil.
One choice may be said to be better than the other. One choice may have more advantages or fewer adverse consequences. One choice may be wise, another may be less so. Or, depending upon the life context, one of the ‘good’ options may even be downright foolish or destructive.
The Scripture says “to everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3.1). There is a time for everything, but things done out of their time may be said to be out of season.
Aristotle observed that to be truly good, actions must be performed "at the right times, with reference to the right objects [i.e. goal or purpose], towards the right people, with the right motive, and in the right way."
For example, we all know there is a time to be angry and people with whom we should be angry. But we must be angry for the right reason, and we must express our anger in the right manner and use it toward a beneficial or worthwhile end. If our anger misses the mark in any of these things, it is most likely “out of season”. The same can be true of all our choices to speak or act.
That’s an awful lot to think about prior to performing a deed or speaking a word, isn’t it?
Making the calculations so our words and deeds are ‘right’ in all these areas is wisdom. Everyone wants the results of wisdom, but do we do the hard work to cultivate it in our own hearts and the hearts of our children?
But that is only the starting place, not the finish line. As we mature, we find that the world is much more complicated than mere black and white. The great challenge in the real world isn’t the choice between good and evil, but between competing, clashing goods, when none of the options are in and of themselves morally evil.
One choice may be said to be better than the other. One choice may have more advantages or fewer adverse consequences. One choice may be wise, another may be less so. Or, depending upon the life context, one of the ‘good’ options may even be downright foolish or destructive.
The Scripture says “to everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3.1). There is a time for everything, but things done out of their time may be said to be out of season.
Aristotle observed that to be truly good, actions must be performed "at the right times, with reference to the right objects [i.e. goal or purpose], towards the right people, with the right motive, and in the right way."
For example, we all know there is a time to be angry and people with whom we should be angry. But we must be angry for the right reason, and we must express our anger in the right manner and use it toward a beneficial or worthwhile end. If our anger misses the mark in any of these things, it is most likely “out of season”. The same can be true of all our choices to speak or act.
That’s an awful lot to think about prior to performing a deed or speaking a word, isn’t it?
Making the calculations so our words and deeds are ‘right’ in all these areas is wisdom. Everyone wants the results of wisdom, but do we do the hard work to cultivate it in our own hearts and the hearts of our children?