One of the most important virtues a person can have is humility, which means not valuing oneself more than others. Humility provides two main benefits: earning love from others and receiving compassion and mercy from God. Additionally, it is to the humble that God reveals His plans (20; cf. Lk 10:21). The virtue of humility should be a major focus for the wise; the wiser someone is, the more they should recognize how much they still have to learn. Verses 22-29, which address the intellectual person, deal with the arrogance of those who believed they had great mastery of science and knowledge at a time when Greek thought led people to believe that wisdom was knowing many things and mastering numerous subjects. For the wisdom tradition in Israel, wisdom involves respecting God, obeying His commands, and living a good life.