Our ultimate goal as a Christian is to share in everlasting life with God. The prudent steward inside of our Gospel was living a life which was contrary to this principle. Nevertheless, when he realized that his time as steward was coming to its conclusion he analyzed the situation that was placed before him and acted under the guidance of prudence. With prudence he looked towards everlasting life and did what was necessary to be welcomed into another’s house.
When we consider the virtue of prudence we might think of simply coming to use common sense. Prudence is far greater then the use of common sense. Rather, prudence is a complex and sophisticated matter. It calls one to learn about the situation that is placed before them and from it coming to make a judgement based upon what has been learned.
Aristotle remarks that prudence is fostered by teaching and that it is perfected over time by the use of experience. Therefore, if we can think back to a bad choice that we have made we will remember the outcome. Maybe it was doing something which led towards a punishment. Prudence would thus make the individual realize from a past experience to not repeat the choice which was made.
Aristotle points out that prudence assists an individual in moderating between extremes. It is prudence then that assists an individual in choosing between the many choices which have been set before them. Prudence leads an individual away from choosing that which harmful for the wellbeing of their soul because prudence always leads us towards the ultimate good which is God.
Prudence is not a virtue for the weak, but rather prudence is a virtue for the strong. It is incorrect to believe that prudence leads one towards weakness because in all reality prudence is leading us towards what is correct in the given situation. Prudence, according to Saint Thomas Aquinas always leads us towards making proper choices which in return yield good results.
Therefore, let us consider for ourselves the life of the saints. Within the life of saints we do not see weakness, but we see the use of prudence which led them towards Everlasting Life. There are those who are numbered among the saints who were even willing to offer their life up in sacrifice towards achieving this ultimate reality. They came to make this decision through the assistance of prudence.
If we are to excel at the moral life we too must grow in the virtue of prudence. Prudence assists us in areas of morality for it assists an individual in their ability to make the correct choice with the given question which is at hand.
