“Hope” has certainly been the cause célèbre of the past couple years. Whether the “Yes, we can” slogan or a “hopey -changey” challenge, “hope” magnifies some of the most basic of human expectations, emotions and desires.
But it seems that hope has been diluted with “I hope the Daytona 500 lasts less than six-hours,” “I hope I win my local bike race,” or “I hope one of my best buddies doesn’t go ‘Mac’.” (All scenarios equally hopeless, by the way)
All this reminds me of one my favorite sayings in business – “Hope isn’t a strategy.” You mean we actually have to cater to customers, constituents and colleagues? You betcha. (By the way, Rick Page wrote a pretty good business book on this topic)
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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Anyway, I digress. I was reading an excerpt from a sermon by Saint Bernard this morning which is titled “On the search for wisdom,” and was inspired by it. The whole sermon is beautiful, but I love this little passage:
Happy is the man who has found wisdom. Even more happy is the man who lives in wisdom, for he perceives its abundance. There are three ways for wisdom or prudence to abound in you: if you confess your sins, if you give thanks and praise, and If your speech is edifying.
All of that got me wondering… why are we trifling with a theological virtue such as Hope? We seem so ready to misapply this to our own trivial concerns. Are we completely ignoring the gifts of the Holy Ghost? Is Wisdom being relegated to the backyard shed along with her six sisters?
As Saint Bernard wrote, “In the beginning of his speech the just man is his own accuser, next he gives glory to God, and thirdly if his wisdom extends that far, he edifies his neighbor.”
Perhaps “”Wisdom is a strategy” will be my new phrase.