Wasi'chu Smart, But Not Wise

"You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions." ~ Naguib Mahfouz

Image source: https://sacompassion.net/crabs-in-the-bucket/

When facing personal history, family history, etc, we tend to back up into our corner of experience and understanding and scratch out the eyes of any new idea that might come along.

I heard 3rd-hand of a Native gentleman who said, 'We Indians are not like the crabs in a bucket who climb on top of one another to let that one crab escape. Nope, we all gang up and pull that one crab back down.'

That's not just a Native American reservation thing. No matter the culture or color, we all can do that. We don't understand that "uppidy" individual that spends time with people outside their own peer group. We judge and gossip and try to drag that 'arrogant' and 'errant' one back down to where they 'belong.' We let our envy blind us to their - and OUR - opportunity.

What if ... instead of pulling that one down directly or indirectly... what if we stopped and asked that individual, "Are you attempting to reach out beyond the worldview of your peer group, to learn and to experience new paradigms? If yes, why do you want to do that, and how are you going about it?"

Hmm, maybe not. That sounds too much like the work necessary to obey Proverbs 3:5 & 6. Nah, that won't do.

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." ~ Thomas A. Edison,