James 3:13-18 The Message
Live Well, Live Wisely
13-16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish plotting. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.
17-18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
According to 1 Kings 3 in the Bible, In a dream, a young new King Solomon was told by God that he could ask for anything he wanted, and he would receive it.
He is given what amounts to a “blank check” signed, guaranteed 100%, by God.
Instead of asking for a long life, riches, popularity, or power, Solomon asked for wisdom – he understood that the “wisdom that comes from heaven” is the one thing we need more than anything else if we are to be what God wants us to be.
According to our reading from the third chapter of James for today, wisdom is not some intellectual pursuit or intellectual gift that makes us more intelligent.
True wisdom does not come from a high I.Q. or from high scores on high school aptitude tests or college entrance exams.
True wisdom is a gift from God, given to help us live life as God expects us to.
It is the kind of wisdom that literally effects every area of our everyday lives.
Says James,
“The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
As we eagerly or not so eagerly watch and we wait, as we anticipate and expect the world around us to either fly apart at the seams or for our Savior’s second Advent, which ever one comes first, this is the #1 wisdom each one of us needs.
Putting our faith into practice, hearing God’s Word, speaking and teaching God’s Word and doing it, begins with asking God for his wisdom (James 1:5).
James 1:5-8 The Message
5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, and ask believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.
Without praying for our “blank check” we can’t be what God wants us to be.
Wait for God.
Anticipate God
Expect God.
Listen for God.
Hear God.
Be mindful of God.
Pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit to help you experience as King Solomon had those thousands of years ago -“the wisdom that comes to us from heaven.”
Why? Because It Is God’s Wisdom Our World Needs!
James 3:13-18 Easy-to-Read Version
True Wisdom
13 Are there any among you who are really wise and understanding? Then you should show your wisdom by living right. You should do what is good with humility. A wise person does not boast. 14 If you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to boast. Your boasting is a lie that hides the truth. 15 That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil. 16 Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. 17 But the wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. It is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help people who have trouble and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest. 18 People who work for peace in a peaceful way get the blessings that come from right living.
Considering our education system, listening to what is being “taught” to the children as the truth, it is incredibly easy to confuse wisdom and intelligence.
If someone allegedly has all the right answers and an encyclopedic knowledge of seemingly every subject known to man, and particularly of Bible verses, we may be prone to assume that they are wise — and they each very well could be.
But equally true is that they may well not be, for raw intellectual ability and the capacity to retain a vast number of facts don’t necessarily equate with wisdom.
In his epistle, the author James correctly links wisdom not with just knowledge alone but also with good conduct and meekness.
The one who is truly wise in God’s sight will act in a way that accords with the humility (Philippians 2:3-4), gentleness (Ephesians 4:2), joy (1 Thessalonians 5:16) that God asks of His people.
God, who needs no counselor (Romans 11:34), doesn’t need us either to impress Him with what we know or with what we want other people to believe we know.
God tells us what draws His appreciative gaze is the man or woman, girl or boy, who is “humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:1-2).
Isaiah 66:1-2 English Standard Version
The Humble and Contrite in Spirit
66 Thus says the Lord:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
and what is the place of my rest?
2 All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.
James has a memorable phrase for this approach to ourselves and to life:
“the meekness of wisdom.”
A genuinely wise person knows exactly how much they will never know.
They know that however much they come to know, it is only ever going to be a tiny portion, miniscule fraction, of the vastness of the knowledge that God has.
Intelligence marked by wisdom will not be polluted by our showy displays of grandiose verbosity or railroad others with “gold medal” intellectual vigor.
Instead, such a measure of wisdom will be marked by a kingly humility which will always aim to build others up with whatever we have—be that physical, or intellectual, spiritual, or emotional strength.
Wisdom echoes the prophet Isaiah, who acknowledged, “The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary” (Isaiah 50:4).
Isaiah 50:4-9 Easy-to-Read Version
God’s Servant Depends on God
4 The Lord God gave me the ability to teach, so now I teach these sad people. Every morning he wakes me and teaches me like a student. 5 The Lord God helps me learn, and I have not turned against him. I will not stop following him. 6 I will let those people beat me and pull the hair from my beard. I will not hide my face when they say bad things to me and spit at me. 7 The Lord God will help me, so the bad things they say will not hurt me. I will be strong. I know I will not be disappointed.
8 God is with me, and he is the one who shows that I am innocent. So no one can say I am guilty. If anyone wants to try to prove me wrong, they should come here, and we will have a trial. 9 But look, the Lord God helps me, so no one can prove me guilty. As for them, they will all be like worthless old clothes, eaten by moths.
The truly wise maintain a high view of God, a sober view of themselves, and a generous view of other people.
How do I know if I have a high view of God?
If I am constantly aware of just how much I depend on Him for everything.
How will I know if I have a sober view of myself?
If I admit I am aware of my own shortcomings and understand that all I have is only what I have received from God—if by my own public and private lifestyle, if I am in the habit of pointing away from myself instead of towards myself.
How do I know if I have a generous view of other people?
If I am routinely building them up instead of cutting them down.
This is the sort of wisdom from above which pleases God, which the world so desperately needs from you and me—a gentle yet strong expression of wisdom that demonstrates itself in our speech, good conduct and consistent meekness.
As we watch and we wait, just how does this not so eagerly challenge us today?
As we go about our daily affairs waiting for Christmas, waiting for the promise of a new and we pray a better year ahead, how does God’s wisdom challenge us?
As we anticipate and expect How does this, will this, challenge us tomorrow?
How will will either of us eagerly pursue living with this true wisdom today?
In the name of God, the Father, and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 24 New International Version
Psalm 24
Of David. A psalm.
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.[a]
5 They will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God their Savior.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.[b][c]
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
Lord, our God, Author of all life, Giver of every good and perfect gift, grant us our portion of your wisdom to help us understand your Word and to live by it every day. Guide us into peaceful, wise living that shows your love. In Jesus name, Amen.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 