“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom…But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” –James 3:13, 17-18 (ESV).
I think there is hardly a one among us who does not wish to be wise. Oftentimes we read and think upon the Proverbs (most attributed to the sage Solomon, who reigned as King of Israel for about 40 years around 1,000 BC). His writings hold immeasurable expressions of wisdom. I, for one, am very fond of quotations. I have quotation dictionaries and am known to write down in journals quotations that strike me as apt and wise. I have even tried my own hand at writing memorable quotations, but I must say without great success. According to James, believed by scholars to be the half-brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, wisdom is “from above,”—his way of stating that wisdom comes as a gift from God. And that wisdom bestowed by God has extremely desirable characteristics. It is “pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” We can pursue knowledge, learn facts and accrue an education, but I like to think that the ability to apply what we learn lies within the area of that often evasive realm called wisdom. Paul wrote to Timothy that those who had leadership roles in the church (and, I think we can apply this to wherever we work) have responsibilities relative to wisdom: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
Would you like to grow wiser in this new year? I think most of us would agree that would be a good goal toward which to strive. Again, the Apostle Paul, in his writings, stated a means whereby we might improve upon our standing in wisdom and experience: “Through Him (Jesus Christ) we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:2-5).
It is significant that when Solomon was inaugurated King of Israel, his prayer to God was that he be filled with wisdom. “Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” (2 Chronicles 1:10). He did not ask for wealth, fame or a powerful kingdom. Could it be that he knew already if he could exercise the wisdom of God, these other achievements would be possible? Wisdom and discernment are needed in our day to follow God’s way so that we will not be detracted by many devious teachings that would lead us astray from His truths. Returning to James’s teachings, we find this encouraging word: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5, ESV). It is good to pray the prayers written in the Word of God. By so doing, we have advanced assurance that we are praying in the Lord’s will. We can pray confidently for wisdom. God wants to answer that prayer.
I think there is hardly a one among us who does not wish to be wise. Oftentimes we read and think upon the Proverbs (most attributed to the sage Solomon, who reigned as King of Israel for about 40 years around 1,000 BC). His writings hold immeasurable expressions of wisdom. I, for one, am very fond of quotations. I have quotation dictionaries and am known to write down in journals quotations that strike me as apt and wise. I have even tried my own hand at writing memorable quotations, but I must say without great success. According to James, believed by scholars to be the half-brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, wisdom is “from above,”—his way of stating that wisdom comes as a gift from God. And that wisdom bestowed by God has extremely desirable characteristics. It is “pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” We can pursue knowledge, learn facts and accrue an education, but I like to think that the ability to apply what we learn lies within the area of that often evasive realm called wisdom. Paul wrote to Timothy that those who had leadership roles in the church (and, I think we can apply this to wherever we work) have responsibilities relative to wisdom: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
Would you like to grow wiser in this new year? I think most of us would agree that would be a good goal toward which to strive. Again, the Apostle Paul, in his writings, stated a means whereby we might improve upon our standing in wisdom and experience: “Through Him (Jesus Christ) we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:2-5).
It is significant that when Solomon was inaugurated King of Israel, his prayer to God was that he be filled with wisdom. “Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” (2 Chronicles 1:10). He did not ask for wealth, fame or a powerful kingdom. Could it be that he knew already if he could exercise the wisdom of God, these other achievements would be possible? Wisdom and discernment are needed in our day to follow God’s way so that we will not be detracted by many devious teachings that would lead us astray from His truths. Returning to James’s teachings, we find this encouraging word: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5, ESV). It is good to pray the prayers written in the Word of God. By so doing, we have advanced assurance that we are praying in the Lord’s will. We can pray confidently for wisdom. God wants to answer that prayer.
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