“Wisdom tells knowledge how to behave” (H.B. Charles).  That quote has served me well in recent years.  The older I get, the greater I need wisdom, and I have found a greater appreciation for wisdom.  In this post, I want to talk about James’ approach to wisdom and hopefully give you a bit of a grid to see if your wisdom is godly or worldly.  

It’s easy to see in James 1:2-8 that trials reveal our lack of wisdom, and God uses them to help us be ‘perfect, complete, lacking in nothing.’  But here’s a question:  when we pray for wisdom, how do we know that the wisdom we think we have is God’s wisdom?  

James 3:16-18 says, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”  If we were to put that in a grid, it would look like this: 

This grid is beneficial because when we ask God for wisdom (James 1:5), God will answer us with heavenly wisdom.   You’ll notice that heavenly wisdom is calm and mature.  It’s not angry.  It’s very measured.  

Now, why is this important?  After James describes the different types of wisdom and their results, James writes in James 4:1-3, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”   You’ll notice selfish ambition at work in quarrels (you want something but don’t get it).  You’ll notice bitter jealousy at work (quarrels, fights, murder).  Why?  Because this is what worldly wisdom does.  

Now, Let’s Put This in Some Real-Life Situations

You disagree with a friend about something and are unsure how to resolve it.  You pray in faith and ask God for wisdom.  Heavenly wisdom will seek to be objective, open to other ideas, merciful towards your friend, and genuinely concerned about peace.  Worldly wisdom will seek to prove your point, demand that you change, and be concerned about getting your way.    You’ll have a decision to make at some point in this disagreement.  Will you let this disagreement become a conflict, or will you let love cover the disagreement?  If the disagreement becomes a conflict, heavenly wisdom will attempt to resolve it using biblical principles of conflict resolution (try to solve it privately; if not resolved, get a wise person to help you fix it; let grace and forgiveness lead the way, etc.).  Here’s a hint:  The result of peace and righteousness does not come from using worldly principles to resolve conflict.  That only comes by using God’s principles.     

You have a medical issue, and your doctor has given you a treatment plan that you’re unsure about.  You have some close friends who have other well-meaning ideas.  You pray in faith for wisdom.  God will give it.  The grid above helps you by revealing that heavenly wisdom is open to reason and impartial, so you don’t close your mind off to fully understanding your options.  Further, heavenly wisdom is peaceable and will lead you to peace.  So, you make decisions full of facts that will lead to peace.  

The point I want to make is that God gives us qualities that describe heavenly and worldly wisdom.  When we ask God for wisdom, He will give us heavenly wisdom.  When we function in worldly wisdom, it leads to disorder and conflict.  So, when I see disorder and conflict, I ask, “Where has worldly wisdom been at work?”

Looking Ahead

This Sunday, we will study James 1:9-11 which is about wealth and humility.  The central concept is not to put our trust in riches but in the goodness of God.  I’m enjoying this study through James.  

From the Cheap Seats

• Good luck to our church members competing in the Oregon High School State Playoffs.  This week, players and coaches from UVC, Days Creek, Oakland, and Sutherlin are in basketball or wrestling events. 
• I love Terry Francona.  He’s now the manager of the Cincinnati Reds.  He informed his MLB veteran players that he does not want them using the new appeal system during Spring Training this year.  Here’s his quote, “I’m OK with seeing our younger kids do it because they’ve done it. It’s not a strategy for [the MLB teams], so why work on it?”  Common sense…an odd thing in our world today.  
• For those who are curious…I start my 26th season as the UVC head baseball coach next Monday.  
• If you haven’t listened to our podcast episode featuring our young adults who went to the SGC Relay Conference, you need to.  You can listen to it here:  https://clf-conversations.simplecast.com/episodes/relay-recap.  CLF Conversations (our podcast) is also on Spotify and Apple.  

Have a great week! Christ is King!

In Christ, 

Dave York