Driven by godly wisdom

For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:16-18 NLT

James, from the text, provided a contrast between the wisdom that most people think is right to the wisdom “from above.” What he says true wisdom is will stand for it provides relief: “peace loving, gentle at all times” (James 3:17). It provides relief because the Christian that gets wisdom from above will be at peace to oneself and will promote harmony among others. This is contrary to the one who is motivated by selfish ambition and jealousy. He is considerate and can handle confusion with calm demeanor. He is submissive; yielding to others. He makes decisions not based on superficial factors. His actions will back up his word. He is sincere for he practices what he teaches. The presence of wisdom is demonstrated by good conduct. Actions that produce anger and division are not the result of godly of wisdom. When our life is driven by the presence of God, we attain wonderful results. Godly wisdom will produce right living. Right living will lead to sowing seeds of peace. We should not ignore the challenge placed before us. James has put quite a challenge before us. At every point of our lives, and especially in our attitude towards others such as our speech, we who know the Lord have the opportunity to demonstrate that we are functioning on the basis of wisdom from above. As we demonstrate that wisdom, we have reason to believe that unbelievers are watching and will take note. Hopefully, they themselves will desire to have wisdom from God. And when they express that desire, we can point them to the Lord Jesus Christ. The other side of the coin is this: with every opportunity, there is a danger. The danger is that we who know the Lord will not take advantage of opportunities to demonstrate divine wisdom, instead will be tempted to reflect worldly wisdom. Because of this danger that is always very present and real, we must each day pray and ask; ‘Lord this day, let me be driven by your wisdom.’

Blessings,