Why have many people abandoned religion? Why do many young people do much worse in school than their parents and grandparents did? Why does virtually everyone claim innumerable rights but far fewer accept personal responsibility? Why do many news media ignore the ethical codes their predecessors honored? Why do increasing numbers of people disparage fellow citizens who disagree with them and mock historic figures who in previous decades were honored? Why are incidents of rape, robbery, and even murder no longer rare but commonplace? Why do many people argue that acts historically viewed as crimes should be considered legitimate behaviors and not be subject to penalty.
I submit that all the negative changes mentioned above can be traced to a change in Americans’ belief about human nature, truth, and wisdom. They used to believe that humans are imperfect beings who are susceptible to ignorance and falsehood but can overcome both by seeking genuine knowledge and truth. They also believed that this search, when successful, leads to wisdom. In recent decades, however, these beliefs dramatically changed. Many Americans have been taught and (in effect} believe that they possess their own personal truth from birth and need only look within themselves to find wisdom
Although this new belief is considered a positive view that validates and increases peoples’ self-esteem, it instead leads to this dangerous thought path: If we each create our own truth, there is no need to seek it. If we don’t need to seek truth, then we don’t need God to enlighten us. If we don’t need God to enlighten us, there is no point in attending church or reading Scripture. Furthermore, if we don’t need God’s enlightenment, then we certainly don’t need it from other humans. Thus, parental guidance and teachers’ lessons not only have no value but are an obstacle to our own “personal truth.” The same is true of enforcing laws and following codes of ethics. All that is necessary to possess wisdom is to follow our own truth.
These notions are clearly major contributors to America’s social problems. And just as clearly, enlarging government will not solve them. What then should we consider doing?
To begin with, we can acknowledge a few basic facts. Personal experience and daily news reports confirm that humans are imperfect. Ignorance, stupidity, and foolishness are as common as intelligent behavior, if not more so. People who avoid swooning when they look in the mirror are better achievers than swooners. Those who resist leaping to conclusions tend to make better judgments than others. Those who respect their elders, including those who lived centuries ago, have a much greater body of knowledge and insight to draw from than those who depend only on their own limited experience.
As these basic facts suggest, we are not born with either truth or wisdom, so focusing our attention on our inner selves will not reveal them. We must instead focus on their source, which is Almighty God, the creator of the universe and all that is in it, including imperfect and fallible human beings. That focus enables us to dispense with the notion that there are billions of different yet equal versions of truth, and to look to Him rather to our own minds. We do not have to like “demoting” ourselves in this way or enjoy wearing the humility it entails, but that is the only way to find truth. God’s manual for humans, the Bible, offers many guidelines and cautions for those who seek wisdom. Here are a few of them.
Job: 28:28 “‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Proverbs 3:13 “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.”
Proverbs 4:5 ” Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.”
Proverbs 9:1-10 “Wisdom has built her house; Whoever is simple, let him turn in here . . . Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. . .The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”
Proverbs 13:1 “A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.”
Proverbs 13:20 “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
Proverbs 14:29 ” Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.”
Proverbs 18:2 “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.”
Proverbs 23:12 ” Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.”
Proverbs 28:26 ” Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”
Isaiah 5:21 ” Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!”
James 1:27 ” If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him….”
How exactly will this change in the popular understanding of truth lead to wisdom? By encouraging people to search for genuine truth that reflects reality rather than hundreds of millions of conflicting “truths” that reflect nothing more than personal preferences. That encouragement will, in turn, inspire honest debate and thoughtful consideration of different views and invite collaboration rather than competition. It will not, of course, overcome human imperfection and the errors that flow from it, such as clinging to foolish and destructive habits even when better ones are available. Changing the entire culture will therefore be difficult. But there is no other way to save it, and all of us, from chaos.
Copyright © by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero. All rights reserved.
