She opens her mouth with wisdom, 
     And on her tongue is the law of kindness.

Wisdom and kindness. Wouldn’t you desire other people to describe you as a woman of wisdom and kindness? Not out of any sense of pride in oneself, but out of a desire for others to recognise the presence of God within you?

But what is wisdom? What is kindness? As Catholic Christians, our interpretation of these words will be different (sometimes vastly) than the world’s understanding.

Wikipedia has the following to say about Wisdom in the Bible:

In Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10, the fear of the Lord is called the beginning or foundation of wisdom while Proverbs 8:13 declares “To fear the Lord is to hate evil”. In Proverbs 1:20, there is also reference to wisdom personified in female form, “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares.” Continuing in Proverbs 8:22-31, this personified wisdom is described as being present with God before creation began and even taking part in creation itself, delighting especially in human beings.

Wisdom is also one of the seven gifts of the Spirit listed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Wisdom: With the gift of wisdom, we see God at work in our lives and in the world. For the wise person, the wonders of nature, historical events, and the ups and downs of our lives take on deeper meaning. The matters of judgment about the truth, and being able to see the whole image of God. We see God as our Father and other people with dignity. Lastly being able to see God in everyone and everything everywhere.
[St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologica]

So wisdom is inherent in Christian theology, but how does it translate into everyday life? St. Thoma Aquinas points us towards the understanding of Truth, recognising God as our (loving) Father, and regarding other people with dignity. Perhaps these are 3 points that we can examine in the light of Proverbs 31:26, and ask ourselves if our lives speak of these gifts of the Spirit. Do I hold fast to the Truth of the Church and the Word in my life? Do I see God as my loving Father? Do I respect the dignity of all life, especially of the unborn? I need to pray and ask God to bless me with the gift of wisdom today.

The second quality touched upon in this verse is that of kindness which seems to speak for itself. The dictionary describes kind as:

1. of a good or benevolent nature or disposition, as a person: a kind and loving person.
2. having, showing, or proceeding from benevolence: kind words.

Recently, there has been an emphasis on “Random  Acts of Kindness”, whereby people are encouraged to perform a spontaneous act of kindness every day. For myself, as a Catholic, acts of kindness should perhaps be given deeper thought. Yes, of course it’s lovely to be spontaneous and on the lookout for opportunities which present themselves, but kindness needs to be an attitude we carry into all that we do. It’s no good buying a stranger a random cup of coffee as a kindness if we then go home and shout at the children and be grumpy with our husbands ;) Kindness comes from the heart, and is often a sacrifice, especially at those times when we are tired and weary. With God’s grace, we can go that extra mile, or offer a cup of water, in His name.

But, it is important to remember that kindness doesn’t always mean doing what other people expect of us. If kindness isn’t governed and led by God, then it isn’t kind. Something to ponder!

More from Proverbs 31 again soon :D

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