You Think You Are So Smart?!

James 3: 13-18 (NLT)

¹³ If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. ¹⁵ For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. ¹⁶ For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

¹⁷ 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 good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. ¹⁸ And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

I would like to think I am a pretty wise girl at the ripe age of almost 37.  I am wise enough to know that I do not know diddly squat.  Just when I think I have it all figured out, God shows me how much I do not know.  I like this definition of wisdom from dictionary.com

Wisdom: knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just 

judgment as to action

Wisdom is not just knowing a lot of things in your head.  Wisdom is also being able to act in a just way.  I want to be wise in all that I say and do.  I do not want to be an idiot.  Hahahaha Easier said than done! 

God so easily puts us in check.  I think some Christians can be so arrogant sometimes.   They walk around puffed up saying, “Look at me and how ‘Christian’ I am being!”  I love how He makes a simple statement to bring our attitudes into a proper perspective in verse 13.  If you think you are wise, understand God, and are all that and a bag of chips put your money where your mouth is….Prove it!

How do we prove it? 

1. By living an honorable life
2. Doing good works with humility that comes from wisdom (if wisdom comes from God than we realize that we can do nothing without Him…so we can’t be prideful about what we do.)
3. Not being bitterly jealous
4. Not having selfish ambition in your heart
5. Not covering up truth by boasting and lying

That is a pretty plain and simple list.  I wish more Christians followed it.  But, I also understand that we are all not perfect even Christians, that is for sure.  And just like other Christians, Christ is working in me.  He is making me more like Him and we are all in that process.  I must be careful to encourage those "being washed"; because we are in all various stages of growth.  

Yup, that cutie is me!

We don’t come to Jesus clean up.  He is always scrubbing away something, thank goodness.  We are born with this sinful, selfish nature.  We are all pretty dirty (vs.14-16).   I love this line from a song by Colton Dixon’s song “You Are”

When all my dirtiness has left me helpless. 
You are the rain that washes me.

I want God’s rain to wash me.  I want His wisdom in my life.

If we understand where wisdom comes from and we figure out to ask for it then God gives us His wisdom.  When we allow the wisdom of God to flow through us we can be that definition of wisdom I stated earlier.  We can have “knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action”. 

Because godly wisdom “from above” is….

Pure

Peace loving

Gentle at all times

Willing to yield to others

Full of mercy

Full of good deeds

Shows no favoritism

Always sincere

Plants seeds of peace

Reaps a harvest of righteousness.

I want this list to describe me.  If it does not, I better figure out what God needs to clean up some more.  I don’t want the old me to rise up.  

I do not want to be jealous; it only leaves me unsatisfied.  

I do not want to have selfish ambition; it only leaves me lonely.  

I do not want to cover up truth with lies; it only leaves me in disillusion. 

I want to prove it by living a life full of God’s wisdom flowing in me and through me.  I can only do it by His help!

I want to prove it!  

GET JOY!

Do you need wisdom today?  Maybe, you are facing some really hard junky life stuff?  God wants to give you His wisdom. He knows the beginning from the end.  He knows what is in your heart and He has a plan for you.  He wants to give you hope.  He wants to help you know what to do.  He does not leave us alone.  You do not have to wonder anymore.  He wants to have a relationship with you.  He loves you and He wants you to love Him back.  All you have to do is start by asking Him to be in your life from this day forward.  If you don’t know Jesus, you can.  Down at the bottom of my blog are some buttons you can click on to learn more about having a relationship with God.  You only are guaranteed this moment; do not let it slip away.  

I love this song!  Thanks Colton Dixon!