“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17 ESV).

Two weeks ago, we pondered James’ question “Who is wise and understanding among you?” (James 3:13). This is a convicting question. I think most of us agree that we desire wisdom. We talked about the opposite of wisdom, which is foolishness. None of us desires to be fools in anyone’s eyes. So, let us continue to allow James to be our guide in exploring elements five through eight of wisdom and how they apply to our Christian walk.

1. Wisdom is full of mercy. We all benefit from God’s mercy, his withholding of wrath for the sinfulness of his creation. As God’s children, we are beneficiaries of God’s grace, whereby we have the righteousness of Christ so that our sin is not held against us. In that, we are absolute debtors to God for his gracious gifts. Who, then, are we to withhold any mercies that we can bestow on others? It is foolish to do otherwise. When Jesus taught us to pray, he included “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Note that the verse reads “full of mercy.” An abundance of mercy! We must not be stingy with our mercy, as we are so thankful that God is so generous with His mercy that he sacrificed his only Son in payment for our sins. Praise God!! “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48).
2. Wisdom is fruitful. Honestly, I got a little hung up on this one at first, and then I got back on track with Galatians 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” These qualities, some of which we have already discussed, both contribute to wisdom and are the result of wisdom. These qualities are planted in our hearts when we place our faith in Jesus, and then are demonstrated in our works. (Just like an apple tree produces apples and a stalk of corn produces corn.) “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). James tells us that faith without works is dead. He is not talking about works to earn our salvation; he is saying that our works, our wisdom, are evidence of our faith (James 2:17).
3. Wisdom is impartial. The book of James has so much to say about impartiality, especially in Chapter two where he writes about avoiding favoritism, treating everyone with fairness, not judging on external appearances. I am reminded in this of the Golden Rule “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Praise God for His impartiality. Praise God that He does not play the comparison game as we can be prone to do, whether making comparisons between others, or between ourselves and others. “For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11).
4. Wisdom is sincere. Sincerity means genuineness, transparency, consistency, trustworthiness. It implies integrity or wholeness, meaning that what you say is who you really are; what you say is what you really mean. What you see is what you get. It means that we are not putting on an act or a front; that we may change our personality depending on our audience. When we possess godly wisdom, we will avoid deceit and disguise and instead be honest with others and show sincerity in our words and actions. “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9).

Let us diligently pursue wisdom. Seek to nourish the seeds of faith and wisdom that the Holy Spirit has planted in your heart and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“A foolish person delights in doing evil. But wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men….” (Proverbs 2:14).

In Christ,

Judy

P.S.: If you would like to talk more about any of these devotions or matters that concern you, please stop by my office, or call or text me at 615-804-3453 to arrange a time, and I will be happy to speak with you.