Discipleship and the Cultivation of Wisdom

Discipleship is normally thought of today solely as a dialectic of right and wrong, of reward and punishment.  That is, we do what is right and avoid what is wrong in order to seek eternal reward and to avoid eternal punishment.

What we have marginalized and forgotten in the Christian tradition is the equal significance and importance of wisdom.  Discipleship is about the cultivation of wisdom so that we make good choices in this world for ourselves and for the world, and seeking the intercession of God's Spirit to enhance our wisdom and understanding of ourselves, of God, and of the world.

The parable of the Rich Fool in Luke's gospel illustrates the importance of the cultivation of wisdom.  In this simple story, an unnamed rich man is preoccupied with hoarding grain.  He has filled up his existing barns, so he devises a plan to build bigger barns.  At some point, his life is taken from him.  Significantly, the story is not framed in terms of reward and punishment, or even in terms of right and wrong, but instead in terms of wisdom and foolishness.  The rich man wastes his life through his preoccupation with "stuff".  He is called a "fool" at the end of the story, not wicked or evil.  There is no indication about whether he is otherwise virtuous or not.

What makes the rich man a fool is his ignorance or denial of life's transience.  Those who are wise understand how transient life is and act accordingly.  If we understand life's transience, we will act accordingly.  We will understand what matters; our soul.  And we will understand that all our "stuff" is fleeting and can vanish in an instant.