What Wisdom Looks Like

June 11, 2021

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. James 3:17 NLT

Frequently we are told to armor up; power up. To be truly powerful, however, is to be wise. Sometimes the hardest, most counterintuitive thing and the wise thing are the same thing. The choice that God and your future will know was true wisdom always appears different than you might suppose. Foolish people will look at it skeptically, thinking it is weak and foolish. But true wisdom is discernable by definite characteristics:

• It is pure. No mixed motives.
• It is peace-loving. It is not looking to conquer or take over.
• It is gentle, the opposite of being cruel. It does not feel the urge to be aggressive or filled with arrogance or bravado. Gentleness takes a step back from a stressful situation or scenario and readdresses it with the correct feelings and intentions. Gentleness takes the time to evaluate what truly matters, then moves forward in calmness and patience. It is in charge at ALL times, not just when it is easy.
• It is willing to yield to others. It does not insist on its own way.
• It is full of mercy, willing to give others what they don’t deserve.
• The fruit of gentleness, its evidence, is good deeds.
• It never plays favorites. Everyone from the greatest to the least gets the gentle word, the gentle hand.
• There’s no fakery here. It is sincere.

Impressive list. Impossible on our own. We MUST surrender to the Spirit of God to let Him grow this fruit in our lives. It is the witness to the world that we belong to Jesus, and it is the path to personal fulfillment. It is the only way to true wisdom.

• God, I am anything but wise and gentle on my own. I need You. Help me surrender daily to Your Spirit’s work in me. Do what You need to do, so I will be who I need to be. Amen.