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Wisdom In Pursuing The Well-Being Of All

Wisdom In Pursuing The Well-Being Of All

Last updated on: July 23, 2026 at 1:11 am by Henry Karlson

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Wisdom In Pursuing The Well-Being Of All 2026-07-23T01:11:38-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Isbg Six: We should come together to promote the good of all / flickr

We should act in and with wisdom. We should not only seek after that which is good, that which is true, that which is beautiful, for ourselves; we must act and promote them for everyone. When we seek for and promote the good for all, and not just ourselves, we will still benefit from it, because we are a part of that “all.” What we should not be is selfish or self-centered, seeking after ourselves and our private wants and desires over and above the good for all. We should not sacrifice others for our own pleasure. We should love others as ourselves, which means we should love ourselves, because if we don’t, how can we love others? Similarly, when we work for the common good, we must do so with the right motive, for our intentions also matter. While it is unlikely for most of us to ever be perfectly altruistic, that doesn’t mean we can’t work on it, trying to become more and more altruistic and less and less selfish. We should always consider the reasons why we do what we do, especially when we explore our interactions with others. How do we converse with them? What are our intentions when we do? Do we do so with the desire to promote ourselves and our ideas, looking to undermine those who think differently? Do we think the right way to deal with disagreement is by debate, doing all we can to “demolish” our opponents? Do we think we can learn nothing from those whose beliefs and practices are different from ours? Do we try to justify such an abusive attitude by saying we are just trying to promote what is good and true, hiding from ourselves our true motives? If so, then, as St. Pacian explained, the good we desire might be reasonable, but how we do so might not be: “To have overcome evil with good is indicative of reason; but to wish to gain the upper hand in whatever cause it may be is indicative of insane presumption.” [1]

To look for and promote the common good requires us to acknowledge the good which others possess in themselves, finding ways to embrace it and integrate it with the good we know. Even if the good they have is distorted in some way, that does not mean they have nothing to contribute, nothing which we can learn from them. It is insane to think we know it all, and those we disagree with knows nothing. Good teachers learn from their students. They do not try to debate their students, insult them, and “put them in their place.” If we truly wish to explain to others what we believe, we should be like such teachers, making sure we listen to those we are talking to, showing we are willing to learn from them, instead of acting like they have nothing worthy to say. Dialogue is impossible if people are unwilling to listen to each other. And when we do listen to each other, when we learn from each other, we find ways to better relate to each other, and grow as persons. We can and should become better people through dialogue.

We must not let our pride or presumption get in the way of our engagement with others; pride, after all, reinforces a false image of ourselves, one which it tries to reify and make real, no matter how fake it is. So long as we let it rule us, we will never find perfection, because we need to be humble to accept that we are less than what we could and should be. Being humble, acknowledging we do not know everything, that we are not perfect, does not means we end up thinking we have nothing to offer others, rather, it means we are open to the good, to the wisdom, had, by all. True humility requires us to accept the good wherever it is found, including, and especially in ourselves, so that we do not end up being constrained either by pride or false humility:

The classic understanding of the value of humility got lost in the shuffle of the modern devotion to autonomy. Somehow or other, contemporary society came to translate humility as simpering or sycophancy or spinelessness. It lost the aura of honesty that the ages before us had ascribed to it. As a result, we have lost a sense of what is really lost when we’re not honest about who we are and what we need. [2]

When we embrace either pride or false humility, we will find that they have us neglect our own needs, each in their own way. Indeed, often enough, false humility comes out of pride.For false humility accepts what it is that pride tells us we should be like, but, when we see we are not like that, we become upset and “humbled” for not being the person we think we should be. It wants us to be that person, but the person false humility wants us to be is not the person we are meant to be. The key, then, is to be honest with ourselves, to see our own good, to promote it, doing so in union with the good of others, while recognizing our limitations. And, again, it is important we do so, looking for and promoting the good of everyone. To overcome some evil, we must promote the good which the evil ignores or rejects, and always, in a just manner, without pride or vainglory getting in the way.We must seek after and get to know our true selves, as the person God wants us to be, as a person in Christ, as someone who is aware that we are not the one with absolute control and authority, for that is God. Thus, far from propping ourselves up, far from debating others to make ourselves look good, we must embrace our proper relationship with God, one where we see the good in us and realize it is ours because it has been given to us by God. That way, we will overcome pride and false humility, allowing us to finally discern and embrace our true self, the self which is lifted up, not by us, but by God. Then, having done so, we be able to be set free from those attitudes which prevent us fulfilling our proper good:

Humility is about being really real, and thus deeply aware of the Wholly Otherness of God. It is a journey from that public persona we have built up in our early adult years toward that true self made in the image and likeness of Christ. Humility is the fruit of letting go of all the interior stuff that weights us down, distracts us from our life’s passions and goals, and keeps us from a simple and empowering relationship with God. Humility is a grace and gift freely given to us by God.[3]

Once again, we must realize, even when we do this, it is grace which makes this possible. Grace is all around us. Grace permeates us, even as it permeates all creation. It is what gives us freedom, it is what gives us the ability to grow, to make something of ourselves, to become better. It is what allows us to even be humble so that we can be open to receive more and more grace. Yes, we must cooperate with grace and activate it if we want it to perfect us. But we must always do so with humility, realizing everything we have, all our good, comes from God, not ourselves. Once we do that, we will be better equipped to treat others properly, for will realize God has given them their good as well, a good which we must respect if we want to properly show thanks and respect to God.

[1] Pacian of Barcelona, “Letter 2” in Iberian Fathers. Volume 3. Trans. Craig L. Hanson (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1999), 34,

[2] Joan Chittister, The Friendship of Women (New York: BlueBridge, 2006), 58.

[3] Laura Swan, Engaging Benedict: What the Rule Can Teach Us Today (Notre Dame, IN: Christian Classics, 2005), 72.

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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