Ecclesiastes 9:13. "I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me." Solomon goes on to tell the story of a besieged city that is saved by a single wise, poor man who had always been overlooked before and was quickly forgotten after. Solomon says "But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded." (Ecclesiastes 9:16)

Solomon does not tell us how the poor wise man saved the city, just that it was saved by his wisdom. (Ecclesiastes 9:15). It brought to my mind the story of Judith, although she was remembered and praised for her bravery. Wisdom is not like bravery, though, it does not show itself other than in words (although sometimes it takes a great deal of bravery to speak those words!). Men hear the words of the wise and those words take up a place in their minds, revealing truth. The words of the wise open our minds in ways we did not foresee they could be opened. Often, and hopefully, wisdom changes our thought patterns permanently, and we can come to believe that we have always thought this way, forgetting the poor wise man who initially unlocked our minds with his words.

This change of thinking, is often very difficult, especially when, in our pride, we have already settled a course of action or a belief system to explain reality that is not quite working anymore. The wise man then comes along and speaks truth that our minds realize is correct, but our prideful hearts don't want to accept, at first, at least. We are even more prone to reject wisdom when it comes from an unexpected source - a poor, forgotten man, for example. Thus, as Solomon says "the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded." Still, though, wise words, being truth, take root and begin working whether people realize it or not. Eventually, the fortified walls of our pride will collapse, brought down by the roots of wisdom.

True wisdom, then, requires humility and patience. The poor wise man must be content to be forgotten, taking comfort in the fact that his words have saved the city whether anyone realizes it or not. That is true power, and is, indeed, an example of wisdom that seems great to me!