Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 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 3:13-18
I love these verses not just because they are in my favorite book but because I am always reflecting on my walk and if I have represented God well and have been a true ambassador. As Christians, it is so important to walk in wisdom. It helps us represent God well as ambassadors. There is a clear difference shown here in these verses between earthly and Godly wisdom. We need to be walking in Godly wisdom. I know this is easier said than done as our flesh likes to continually get in the way. True wisdom can only come from God. So how do we get it? It is one of the gifts given by God listed in 1 Corinthians 12. James tells us in chapter 1 that if we lack wisdom we should ask God as He gives it to all men generously.
Wisdom is not just something we can express by simply speaking. Wisdom is shown in our good works. We live wisely and interact with those around us wisely when we walk in peace and are gentle with others. Wisdom is impartial and open to reason. When we are open to reason this means we are not so set in our way of thinking and declaring we are right and being unwilling to listen to what others have to say and consider their perspective. This does not only apply to non believers but to our brothers and sisters in Christ as well. So often we can be so set in our ways and stubborn about what we believe about God, His Kingdom, and the Bible that we are unwilling to listen to and hear others and their understanding of it when discussing the Bible. Many times throughout my walk I believed one way until praying over the scripture I had been reading. I have never forgotten what John Bevere said, “Believe what you read, don’t read what you believe.” We need to be careful not to read the scripture through the lens of our doctrinal beliefs. Instead we should read the scripture with an open mind and believe what the scripture is saying and not take it out of context.
Wisdom shows a willingness to make peace rather than instigating a fight. A wise person shows humility. Someone walking in jealousy, selfish ambition and contention is not walking in Godly wisdom, that is earthly. A good self check/reflection question to ask ourselves is, “Why am I saying or doing this? What is my motivation or reasoning?” Of course you have to be willing to seriously give an honest answer, which can be hard when we don’t want to see the ugly truth about ourselves. But unless we do, we will not change and be the ambassador God desires us to be. Wisdom from above has no disguise or deceit.
Lord, I pray that you help each of us to walk in wisdom that comes from you. I pray we are peaceable and make peace with those around us. I ask that you help us be open to reason, gentle and that we would say and do things out of pure motives. I pray that we would think of others more highly than ourselves. I pray that as we spend time with you in prayer and in reading your word that your Holy Spirit would be teaching us and guiding our hearts and minds in the truth. I pray that we would not let our mindsets and opinions get in the way. I pray that you would forgive us from the times we have been selfish and stubborn. I pray that our will would line up with yours and that we would walk in a way that represents you well. In Jesus name. Amen
Written by Rebecca Murzin
