I
am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes
and as innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16
Prudence
means practical common sense, taking the trouble to think out what you are
doing and what is likely to come of it. Nowadays most people hardly think of Prudence
as one of the ‘virtues’. In fact, because Christ said we could only get into
His world by being like children, many Christians have the idea that, provided
you are ‘good’, it does not matter being a fool. But that is a
misunderstanding. In the first place, most children show plenty of ‘prudence’
about doing the things they are really interested in, and think them out quite
sensibly. In the second place, as St. Paul points out, Christ never meant that
we were to remain children in intelligence: on the contrary. He told us to be
not only ‘as harmless as doves’, but also ‘as wise as serpents’. He wants a
child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded,
affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit
of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting
trim. The fact that you are giving money to a charity does not mean that you
need not try to find out whether that charity is a fraud or not. The fact that
what you are thinking about is God Himself (for example, when you are praying)
does not mean that you can be content with the same babyish ideas which you had
when you were a five-year-old. It is, of course, quite true that God will not
love you any the less, or have less use for you, if you happen to have been
born with a very second-rate brain.
HE HAS ROOM FOR PEOPLE WITH VERY LITTLE
SENSE, BUT HE WANTS EVERY ONE TO USE WHAT SENSE THEY HAVE.
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