Social Capital Archives

Wisdom for a Distracted People

With the new year comes the promise of ever-greater distractions in our fast-moving world. So far, 2025 seems to be the year of over-the-top headlines: devastating fires and frigid arctic storms; a funeral for one president and the anticipated inauguration of another; wars and rumors of wars. All the while, cultural buzzwords like artificial intelligence, algorithms and chatbots occupy greater territory in the national lexicon.

Most of us just try to keep pace these days. But as big news unfolds in this fast-knowledge era, I can’t help wonder, where do any of us find wisdom in the current moment? In an age where disasters—natural and those of the human variety—seem to happen with greater frequency and intensity, what does wisdom even look like? When institutional trust has been fractured in so many ways and the whole of creation seems to be groaning, how do we cultivate and share wisdom with one another?

A Seat at the Table

Ben Pilgreen has a worthy idea. He calls it the wisdom table, and I write about it in my latest piece for The Washington Institute of Faith, Vocation and Culture. In his book, Bring it Out, Pilgreen writes, “Your future is going to be determined by the people seated at your wisdom table.” He continues, “When you pursue a major calling in your life, it really matters who is in it with you.” In other words, who is holding you accountable? Who is whispering in your ear? Who do you look to as a role model?

Proverbs 13:20 reminds us that “whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” At the dawn of a new year, who are the best candidates to have a seat at your wisdom table?

I explore this theme in my long-form article, Finding Wisdom in a Distracted World, which I invite you to read and share as you set your own wisdom table for 2025.

Finding Dignity in Our Life’s Work

Historically in America, our understanding of dignity in the workplace has been closely aligned with a work ethic steeped in diligence, discipline, thriftiness and personal accountability. Generations have been raised to believe that the formula for success depends on a can-do attitude, hard work, and a little gumption. But like so much else in the current moment, the pandemic has upset our understanding of work and what counts for dignity.

Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor and behavioral social scientist, writes, “Social science, ancient philosophy, and common sense all testify that meaningful work and the means of earned success are vital drivers of happiness, human flourishing, and our sense of basic dignity.” Brooks has traveled the world exploring ways to bring dignity to people, particularly those at the margins of society. He concludes, “Nothing destroys dignity more than idleness and a sense of superfluousness—the feeling that one is simply not needed.”

Even as we scramble to understand the full shape and scope of current shifts within the American workplace, it is clear that our basic “need to be needed” axiom is in jeopardy. A recent Pew Research study estimated close to 10 million U.S. workers lost their jobs in the first year of the pandemic alone. This, while the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that, in November 2021 alone, a record 4.5 million workers quit their jobs. What is happening in the American workplace and how can we find the dignity of work we desire?

Of course, in God’s economy, work and dignity are inseparable. Work is one of the most tangible ways we live out our relationship with God and practice discipleship with those around us. The Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation and Culture has published my long-form article about the impact of COVID on the workplace and our common quest to find dignity in our life’s work.