Is the pursuit of wisdom and creating a lasting legacy worth it?

If we read Ecclesiastes 1, we might think it’s all an exercise in futility. 

Was the writer of Ecclesiastes depressed? It seems so. After all he had done to pursue wisdom, he realises that everyone dies.

What was the purpose of studying so much and creating so much wealth? Will it be appreciated by those left behind? Even wealth gets squandered by unwise heirs. 

So, what’s the purpose of all that hard work and effort?

When we look at the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together and leave their wealth to others.

Psalms 49:10

On the other hand, Colossians suggests that we stop pursuing worldly pleasures and goals, and focus our time and energy on “things above”.

Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth

Colossians 3:2

So, what is the meaning of life? Is it futile to pursue wisdom and wealth? Is this all vanity (futility) as the author of Ecclesiastes suggests? 

Or is there something meaningful that we can do and create here and now that will leave a legacy behind?

The true pursuit of wisdom

First, what is wisdom? Is there a difference between worldly wisdom and divine wisdom? Earthly wisdom or godly wisdom?

Who do you consider to be wise?

Is someone with a Master’s degree considered to be wise? Or are they merely educated?

In business, there’s a DIKW pyramid – data, information, knowledge and wisdom. Data is meaningless, unless you can actually draw some conclusions from it that you can use to guide your future actions.

Data is the foundation, information is processed data, knowledge is information with context, and wisdom is the application of knowledge to make informed decisions. 

So, in the context of business, wisdom is not knowledge, but the application of knowledge into decision-making. 

In a similar fashion, education is merely a means to an end: hopefully, getting an education will teach you how to transform knowledge into wisdom – wise decision-making. 

Worldly Wisdom or Divine Wisdom?

So, what about this divide between earthly wisdom and godly wisdom? 

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish plotting. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

James 3:13-16, The Message

If you ask me for my favourite books of the Bible, they would be these:

• James
• Proverbs
• Job
• Ecclesiastes

Do you see any similarities in them? Yes, they all talk about Wisdom.

And still, Ecclesiastes suggests that even the pursuit of Wisdom is meaningless and futile. 

As we know it, the author of Ecclesiastes (thought to be Solomon, but perhaps not) was also one (if not the principal) of the authors of Proverbs. 

And in the end, he says it’s all vanity. What’s the point of pursuing wisdom?

Or as Psalms suggests: what’s the point of building up an estate and wealth to leave to your children? 

What do we truly live behind when we go? Is there any point to “living with purpose” or “finding your purpose” in life and creating a legacy to leave behind? 

Is pursuing holiness enough?

Colossians suggests that we should pursue individual holiness. But how does Colossians define this individual holiness?

What does it mean to be renewed in wisdom and become a new self?

I find it fascinating that the defintion we are given focuses most on what we leave behind and stop doing. When we stop all of these bad habits, though patterns and emotions, we open up space for the new.

Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).
But now you must get rid of all such things: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.

Colossians 3:5, 8-10

As it says here, stripped off the old self with its practices and habits. And then you can put on your clean clothes.

“seek the things that are above”

Colossians 3:1

What are we seeking? Divine Presence in our lives.

And how can we be filled with the Divine Spirit? Only by making room! To make room in our life for the Divine, we have to let go of whatever is holding us back.

What are the personal obstacles in your thoughts, feelings and actions that inhibit the Spirit from flowing freely in your mind?

To be full of the Spirit

In order to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit fully – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – we have to let go those emotions and thoughts that are their archnemesis.

• To be full of love, I have to first let go of hate.

• If I want my joy to overflow, I first have to finish grieving for whatever I think I deserved and didn’t receive, as well as find a place of acceptance of what is.

• To be full of peace, I release my anxiety and that pressing need to have everything now. I recognise any greed that I have – whether it be for things, results or even knowledge and wisdom.
• If I want to have patience, I must learn to persist in the face of trouble, delay or even suffering. It’s an internal strength that I gather that allows me to face whatever may come, and still love othes in spite of my circumstances. I let go of the longing for immediate results, and recognise that everything is for my good. 
• To be full of kindness, I have to let go of my ego, pride, anger and wrath. I release all malice and slander from my thoughts, emotions, words and actions. And I certainly refrain from abusive language coming out of my mouth!
• If I am committed to being filled with goodness, I must first release sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and idolatry.
• And when I claim that I have faithfulness, I let go of lying to myself and others, and instead demonstrate loyalty, steadfastness, and trustworthiness.
• Likewise, when I am filled with gentleness, I get rid of all those rough edges of my emotions and tongue. I learn to speak gently, rather than harshly, and I curb my anger, wrath and hatred completely. 
• Finally, the crux of it all becomes impeccable self-control. I have control over my mind and thoughts, my emotions and especially my tongue and the words of my mouth. 

This is why Colossians focuses on what we have to get rid of in our lives. Take out the old, in order to be full of the new. If you want to think on things above, you have to stop thinking about all the things below. 

What is Wisdom and a Meaningful Legacy?

Let’s go back to Ecclesiastes and the lamentations of “This is all futile and useless”. 

sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it.

Ecclesiastes 2:21

So, all that hard work, even applying your knowledge and skill for wise decision-making, sometimes is reaped by those who don’t deserve it.

Perhaps you died and a distant family member reaps rewards rather than the children you expected. Or your business is taken over by outsiders. The bank forecloses on your house and leaves your children without a roof over their heads.

So, what is meaningful? What do we leave behind that truly matters?

I would guess that it’s the impact we have on the lives of others. Especially when that impact carries far into the future, beyond the span of our lives and the generations that followed us. 

Think for a moment, for example of the authors of the Bible: thousands of years later, we are still reading those words. Even the authors of political, ethical and scientific books are read hundreds and thousands of years later.

But it’s not just books and writers that leave a legacy – there are many who impacted lives that were illiterate, and yet their deeds are know all over the world, living on as legends and stories that we continue to share. 

Jesus may have been born humbly, and we have no works written by him… yet every year we continue to celebrate his birth and coming to this earth, as well as his teachings and his sacrifice.

His divine wisdom and legacy are clear to each one us.

So the question for you today is: what meaningful legacy are you creating and leaving?