What True Wisdom Looks Like

James 3:13–18 (ESV)
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 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.
 
Have you ever known a bitter person?  I’ve known a few.  On the surface, you would think that they were quite normal and pleasant, and you would probably enjoy their company in the right circumstances.  But it wouldn’t be long before their bitterness would become plain and obvious to you.  Your conversation with them turns to that sore subject matter, and suddenly, the countenance of their face changes from a smile to a scowl, and the bitterness in their heart comes pouring out like poison.
 
That’s the exact opposite, James says, of someone who is wise and understanding.  The wise and understanding person is known by what they do, by the fruit of their lives.  Look at verse 17 again and soak in the great description James gives of someone who is wise and understanding; peace marks their life, gentleness, reason, mercy and good fruits, evenhanded, and genuine.
 
Where does that wisdom come from?  From above, from the Lord, and that wisdom is something that the Lord desires to lavish upon each of us.  Go back to 1:5; if we lack wisdom, we are to ask God who gives generously to all without reproach.
 
In your life and mine, most of the time, we can get by and be gracious to others and tolerate difficult circumstances.  However, we are limited human beings, which means that our capacity to be gracious and tolerant will at some point run dry, which is why we need wisdom from the Lord.
 
So let us ask the Lord to give us His wisdom and may the character traits of His wisdom grow and flourish in and through our lives.  But know that these traits are something that must be pursued and cultivated in a relationship with Jesus.  They are hard to acquire and hard to maintain.  They can only be sustained at great personal cost.  They only appear where there has been a steady habit of prayer and self-discipline; even then they may take a while to show themselves.—N.T. Wright.
 
These traits take time and work to come to fruition and they will only appear as we grow and mature in our relationship with the Lord.
Can you imagine the transformation that will take place in your life and relationships as the Lord’s wisdom begins to manifest itself in you? 
 
Can you begin to imagine the change that will take place in the world as others come to recognize the presence of Christ within you?
 
Christ in you; His wisdom, His mercy, His peace.  The very thing our cynical world hungers and longs for.
 
 
God bless you, and know that you are constantly in my prayers.
Scott