A Word to the Wise
A “word of wisdom” that I would like to share with the younger generation, would be a quote from the man who exemplified wisdom to the highest degree, the man honored of acquiring the accolade “The Wise”; King Solomon, Son of David, said “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.”(Ecclesiastes 12:1) Many of us forget God, and claim that we’ll “get to Him when we have time”, or something of that nature. We treat our relationship with Him very much like a pending chore, or a disregarded diet plan. We often push our spiritual life to the side for the sake of the vanity of this world, such as work, acceptance from men, sinful pleasures, pride, love of money, etc. These things are vain because, just like literally everything in this world, all things are perishing. The Wise said, “As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return…and he shall take nothing from his labor.” (Ecclesiastes 5:15) Our work, our money, our accomplishments, our possessions, our popularity and image, even our bodies, all gone. Indeed, to chase for these things is the same as to “grasp for the wind.”(Ecclesiastes 1:16) There is, however, one thing that will not perish in this great fire, so to speak, it is our souls. The things that accompany the soul are often overlooked in today’s society. Intangibles such as loving God, loving all men, putting other’s needs before our own, being pure, humble, and refraining from evil thoughts, all lift up the soul to a state worthy of eternal life. However, in our secular society, it is hard to go against the flow of things, to stand out, to be excluded, left out, and made fun of. This, perhaps, is the biggest factor hindering our spiritual lives. With all boldness, I tell you that these things should in fact motivate us! Why? It is a blessing, to partake with Christ in His suffering, to live as He lived. In today’s society, it is almost considered an honor for “ordinary” people to be compared to celebrities. Words like “you look like George Clooney”, “you play like Kobe Bryant”, or “you sing like Taylor Swift” make us feel accomplished, because we are being compared to the best there is. How much more then, should we yearn to be called “Christ-like”, like the Son of God, the Creator and Savior of everyone! Also, we often think that these sufferings and persecutions will make us feel depressed, neglected, left out, and sorrowful. Rest assured, this is by no means the case! In fact, it is the complete opposite. Consider St. Paul. He was “hard-pressed, yet not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”(2 Corinthians 4:9) Why? Because