WISDOM.

WISDOM

My notes from the Study of James in my Cell Group

Some people have a bumper-car mentality in their relationships with others. Using blunt words, they deliberately bump into other feelings, which is anything but harmless. “He who restrains his lips is wise,” says Solomon. But James says, “No man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). James says in Vs. 3:9 that with the tongue we bless our God who created us, but we also curse those whom God created. Both blessing and curse cannot come out of mouth. To tame our tongues, we need God’s help. Paul says in Romans that we need to make a choice-to present our bodies “ as instruments of righteousness to God” not “as instruments of unrighteousness to sin.” Everyday we need to make a choice to present our body including our tongue as a living sacrifice to God to be used by God as an instrument of blessing.

James suggests that a person who is wise reflects wisdom in his daily deeds (James3: 13). James contrasted earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom, so we can discern the difference. He said, “If you have bitter envy and self-seeking, in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil things will be there” (James 3:14-16).

Heavenly wisdom is “ first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). We are not wise, no matter what we may claim, unless our every day life reflects these characteristics.

James spoke of heavenly wisdom as being full of mercy and good fruits. This means our works should back up our words. True wisdom is not marked by hypocrisy. Are we partial toward certain people, or do we give everyone equal consideration? God in His perfect wisdom doesn’t view us in a racial or economic class or in an echelon of spirituality. We are warned us not to prefer the wealthy or prestigious to those who seem poor, for God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom (James 2:1-9).

Wisdom is an important mark of excellence, but as is true for the other attributes, it alone is insufficient. Faith, character, action, single-mindedness, love, prayer, suffering, and staying power must accompany wisdom.