The Wise Man

In a kingdom long ago, there was a wise man. He sat on a crate outside the city gate. The man had black curly hair. He wore a beautiful blue silk robe and a shining golden tunic which made him look like a prince. Though people were impressed by his clothing, they were even more impressed by his wisdom. The wise man would give wisdom to all who asked for it and everyone who asked the wise man questions was amazed by his answers. 

“Surely, his wisdom comes from God Himself,” they would say. 

There was not a man in all the kingdom who was as wise as that man.

One day, a young man named Shimea went to the wise man and said, “Wise man, please give me wisdom on a matter. I have earned an inheritance. What shall I do with it?”

“Save part of your money and dedicate the rest of it to the Lord,” the wise man advised. “Do not spend it on things you do not need. Save it for the future. Manage it well and live below your means.”

The advice pleased Shimea, and he did as the wise man said. He dedicated part of his money to the Lord and saved the rest. A few years went by, and the man earned more money than he had previously. He continued to tithe and thanked God for His goodness. 

Shimea decided to go and see the wise man again to thank him for his advice and to tell him of all the good things God had done. He went to the city gate, but the wise man was not there. Only his crate. “Where has the wise man gone?” Shimea asked one of the townsmen.

“He has moved to another city.”

Shimea went to the other city and searched for hours until he found the wise man sitting on the ground in an alley. 

The wise man’s hair was light brown with dust. He no longer had his shining blue silk robe nor his shining golden tunic. He now wore a tunic with holes in it. The wise man’s eyes widened when he saw Shimea. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to thank you for your advice and to tell you all that God has done. But what has happened? Why are you sitting here?”

The wise man sighed. “I spent all my money. I lived above my means. Now I cannot live in my home and must live in this alley.”

Shimea was confused. “But you advised me to live below my means.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

The wise man sighed. “The temptation was too great for me.”

Shimea took his hand and helped him up. “Come with me to my house. You can stay there for a time.”

The wise man followed Shimea to his house and for a time he stayed with him until he earned enough money to go to his own house.

“I am sorry to have troubled you all this time,” the wise man said.

Shimea shook his head. “You have not troubled me at all. I have learned much from you and your wisdom, both the wisdom you have spoken to me and the wisdom I have learned from you by your example.”

“Oh? What wisdom have you learned from me by example?”

“When you told me you had spent all your money, I did not believe you at first, for there is no man as wise as you in all the kingdom. That was when I realized another thing. Wisdom means nothing to a man if he does not act upon it.”