Have you ever read a book or watched a movie and when you come to the end, you initially think, ‘that was really good,’ but as time goes by, you have this growing sense that it was far better than good—you have just read or seen something profound? It is like you missed it the first-time round, but with the passage of time you seem to subconsciously process what you have read or seen, to come to a deeper understanding and appreciation.
I need to admit this has been my experience as I have been reading through the Old Testament of Proverbs. Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings and reflections and essentially describes how to live a good life. While I have enjoyed reading Proverbs in the moment, it has been as I have sat with what I have read that I have come to realise I have just read something profound!
One of the pillars of the book of Proverbs explores is how to live a good life, a life characterised by wisdom, through integrity. To have wisdom, one must have integrity. This is a theme that is continually emphasised in Proverbs, for no one can truly live the good life without integrity.
What do I mean by integrity? The dictionary defines it like this: “wholeness, soundness, trustworthiness, uprightness, honesty.” By this list, one can see that integrity is a moral quality, and morality is an essential characteristic of wisdom. One of the mistakes many people make when thinking about wisdom is they confuse it with learning, intelligence, brilliance or cleverness. How many times do we read of those who have climbed the ladder of success who have been highly educated or have achieved great prominence in the world, only to come tumbling down because of a lack of personal or corporate integrity?
Many professional people have a great deal of knowledge but lack wisdom. As a learning community, we would say that learning, understanding and intelligence are important; but, if we are to be experts in the art of living, as the book of Proverbs sets out to remind us, we must see and understand that without wisdom, the things I have listed above do not count for much at all.
As Bible commentator Paul Larsen comments on the verse from Proverbs, “the simplicity of integrity is the profundity of wisdom [Proverbs 8:2], integrity is the moral dimension that separates wisdom from intelligence, learning and cleverness.”
We desire each of our students to have wisdom. This is why we start each day with the students with devotion. It provides them with a daily opportunity to open and hear God’s word as contained in the Christian Bible. As our students can hear and come to understand that God calls them to live the good life that is characterised by truth, integrity and wisdom, they are able to live as God has called us to live.
Our desire through Christian education is to not only intellectually stimulate our students but to also help and enable their character to be developed and refined. To enable them to become fine young men and women who reflect a life of wholeness, soundness, trustworthiness, uprightness and honesty.
What a privilege we have to be able to speak into student’s lives in such a powerful positive way!