Worth Remembering strives to follow Paul’s admonition to preserve that which is truly good (Philippians 4:8). The next year of Worth Remembering will focus on the four cardinal virtues: prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude. These medieval virtues are both truly good and Worth Remembering.
A musical group that many feel worth remembering is The Beatles. They released their eleventh album in 1969, Abbey Road. It was a great album for a number of reasons, and it was my first Beatles purchase (though not until many years after its release date). Among the many fun songs on the album is Dear Prudence. The song was my first exposure to the concept of prudence, and it left me with the impression that prudence involved not having fun.
Thankfully, C. S. Lewis corrected that view many years later; not only is prudence about more than not having fun, but the practice of prudence is actually a virtue. In Mere Christianity book 3 chapter 2, Lewis compares prudence with our concept of common sense. Prudence is the ability to recognize the probable consequences of our actions. This makes it a virtue helpful for skillful living for a variety of reasons.
Among these reasons is prudence’s ability to allow us a brief glimpse into the future – not as it necessarily will be (because Christian faith tells us that only God is omniscient), but as it probably will be. This realistic far-sightedness is a skill we must strive after. I often fall short of prudence because when I predict the possible outcomes of my choices, I tend to predict worst-case scenarios. The result: every time I look toward the future, it too often appears ominous. The other possible outcome of this false far-sightedness is the inability to take action at all. If a person keeps this up long enough, misery is the inevitable result. However, one can also err in the opposite direction. Those who only see the silver lining – oblivious to the dark and rumbling clouds that contain it – are asking to be hit by lightning (or at least a good soaking).
So how then do we practice prudence? First, recognize the natural consequences that operate in our world. Read Proverbs to help with this. Then, look for options that generally have a positive outcome – or at least an outcome you can live with. If you feel yourself paralyzed by a sea of potential negative outcomes, remember that so much of our life is filled with neither worst-case nor best-case scenarios, but rather something in between.
Thankfully, prudence, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, can help guide us through those middle cases. When applied alongside temperance, which is the virtue our next Worth Remembering will address, it even allows us to have some fun.
