This week's scripture readings (http://www.lectionarypage.net) are about wisdom. Solomon was known for his wisdom. Paul tells the Ephesians to live wisely. Every faith tradition has its own library of wisdom literature -- accumulated advice from those who have gone before.
Yesterday Jill, Forrest, and I left Omaha at 4:00AM and drove straight through to Baton Rouge, LA, where we arrived at 9:00PM, a little road-weary but otherwise in good shape. During the drive I had a chance to reflect some on what was going on and what was just ahead, and decided I want to give my new college student son some advice, even though I know he won't listen. Or maybe he will listen but not really hear it. Will he follow it? That thought made me laugh, and the more I thought about it, the more I understood that the advice I want to give him really amounts to things I would like to have known myself at his age. Maybe that's all wisdom really is -- just advice we wish we could have given ourselves when we were young.
So -- I started to think about what advice I would give the 18 year-old version of me. Things like:
- You're going to be afraid. Don't let that freak you out, and don't go to all that trouble to mask your fear. You don't have to be the funniest guy or the loudest guy or the drunkest guy. In the end, the fear is still there. Take a little time and reflect on what it means and where it comes from. You have no idea how much trouble that will save you.
- Focus on a goal. There is an easier way to do things. When you lose focus you end up making everything so much harder. Don't quit. You can do this. Hard work is just as important, or maybe more important, than natural gifts or personal advantage.
- You know, a plan wouldn't hurt you. You don't have to just let life happen. You can be intentional.
I don't think I ever once listened to my parents' advice. I was too smart, right? I ignored a whole lot of biblical advice, too. I wonder what would be different if I had been more willing to hear it?
What advice would you give your 18 yr-old self?
My first thought is: "Be cool, stay in school!" College was a whole lot cheaper 18 years ago when I first started, and whould have been a whole lot easier than it is now if I had been focused on it! But if I had listened to that advise back then, I wouldn't be where I am now. I would probably not have met my wife, would not have these two great kids, would have missed out on living in the places I've lived and meeting the people I've met along the way. So I guess sometimes we ignore wisdom and learn from experience. It may not always be easy, but it's usually one heck of a ride! And if we learn from our mistakes we end up being wiser for it.
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