Wisdom and Gentleness

Do you want to live a good life? Do you enjoy doing good works? Are you a person who enjoys accomplishing tasks? Do you think through the tasks before you tackle them? Do you have a plan? How do you approach them? Do you approach them with gentleness and wisdom?

All of us want a good life, but our definition of a good life may differ. Some of us like to complete tasks and enjoy a feeling of accomplishment. Some of us prefer to live a life of ease and luxury. Some of us have struggled most of our life and are not sure what a good life is.

James tells us to show our good life includes our works. Those works are to be done with gentleness that comes from wisdom. How do we become wise? First, knowledge and wisdom come through experience. As we experience different situations, we experience successes and failures. If we learn from those experiences, we become wiser.

Second, we study and research to gain the knowledge we need for the work we will do. Along with our study, we must spend time thinking, pondering, or meditating on what we learn. Without taking time to put the various pieces of data we have learned into comprehensive information; our knowledge is nothing more than data points.

Third, we should pray. True wisdom comes from God. As we ask him to reveal the meaning and usefulness of what we learn, he reveals to us the wisdom we need to use the information appropriately. It is through God’s wisdom that we can accomplish the works he has set aside for us to do with the gentleness of Jesus and show our good life to others.

I pray we all seek live a good life. I pray we gain the knowledge we need to accomplish the works God has set aside for us. I pray each one of us spend time in prayer, asking God to reveal his wisdom to us. Live a good life. Show your good life through works. Ask for God’s wisdom. Accomplish your works with gentleness.

James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.

Fruit of Our Labors

Do you want to be productive? Do you seek to be someone others can count on? Whose advice do you listen to? Where does your guidance come from? What are the principles your life is based on? Are your principles based on God’s law? Do you have them engraved on your heart?

Most of us want to be productive members of society. We want to be people others can count on. Whether we admit it or not, we like others knowing they can depend on us. But if we are trying to be an upstanding person on our own, we get worn out and often fail.

We fail when we act based on the wrong advice. There are any number of people who like to give us advice based on their personal desires. When we follow their advice rather than basing our decisions on God’s law, commands, and principles, we stumble and may find ourselves digging a hole.

On the other hand, when we study God’s Word, have his law, commands, and principles written on our hearts and we filter all advice through them, we can make wise decisions. Our desires will match God’s desires. Our strength is not our own but God’s. The fruit of our labors are not ours but God’s who is working through us. We become the upstanding person of God that he created us to be.

I pray we all study God’s Word. I pray we have his law, commands, and principles written on our hearts. I pray each one of us will become the person God has created us to be. Study God’s Word. Know God’s law. Obey God’s commands. Follow God’s principles. Be the person God created you to be.

Psalm 1:1-3

Happy are those 

who do not follow the advice of the wicked, 

or take the path that sinners tread, 

or sit in the seat of scoffers; 

but their delight is in the law of the Lord, 

and on his law they meditate day and night. 

They are like trees 

planted by streams of water, 

which yield their fruit in its season, 

and their leaves do not wither. 

In all that they do, they prosper.

Precious Partner

Are you looking for a partner in life? Do you have a life partner now? Do you see your wife as being precious to you? Does your husband trust you with all his heart? Do you continue to work on your relationship? Do you work together so you lack nothing?

Finding a partner for life can be a challenge. We might many people, but finding the right match takes more effort than simply meeting people. We need to get to know them, know their character. We need to not only love them but determine if they will be a good match long term.

We sometimes encounter people who are more in love with the idea of being married than they are in love with the person they marry. There are some people in this world who simply cannot stand being alone. They will cling to anyone who shows them attention. Those relationships typically do not last nor end well.

To find a lifelong partner, we must not only find someone we are attracted to, but someone whose character matches well with ours. We also must understand there is no perfect person waiting for us. We need to be willing to live with a few imperfections and they must be willing to live with a few of ours. A life together will include ups and downs, good times and bad times. Yet, when the two are willing to give to the other, they can make a good life together.

I pray we all find a person we can trust. I pray we see one another as precious to us. I pray each one of us work at our marriages, being willing to give to one another to make a good life together. Find someone you can trust. See the other person as precious. Work on your marriage. Give to one another. Make a good life together.

Proverbs 31:10-11

A capable wife who can find? 

She is far more precious than jewels. 

The heart of her husband trusts in her, 

and he will have no lack of gain.

Immediate Response

How quickly do you respond to urgencies? If there is an emergency, do you react quickly? If there is an urgent matter to be taken care of, do you stay at it until it is completed? How have you responded to Jesus’ calling of you?

When emergencies occur, we often react immediately. It could be as simple as a flat tire or as disastrous as 9/11. The more disastrous the emergency, the more lives at stake, the quicker we respond and the more determined we are to see it through.

So, why do we not respond to Jesus in the same way? Every life on this planet is at stake, not the least of which is our own. It isn’t merely a matter of physical life or death but a matter of spiritual and eternal life or death. Honestly, our physical lives in the here and now are meaningless without the welcomed promise of eternal life.

Will we respond to Jesus? Will we follow Him? He desires us to choose to follow Him. But following Him means forgoing our own personal desires. It means giving up chasing our dreams for our own glory and instead chasing what God wants us to chase for his glory. It doesn’t mean we can’t be a CEO. It simply means as CEO we are to give God the glory.

Far too many people want to see their name in lights for their sake. Yet, when we stop pursuing fame and fortune for our sake and pursue God’s plan for us, we soon realize he has something far better in mind for us. It is in God’s plan that we will find ultimate satisfaction.

I pray we all choose to follow Jesus. I pray we choose to follow God’s plan for our lives. I pray each one of us will give up our personal desires for fame and fortune to abide in God’s plan and bring him glory. Choose Jesus. Follow Him. Give Him you all. Follow God’s plan. Bring God the glory.

Matthew 4:20, 22 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. …Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Who Am I?

Have you mistakenly thought the wrong thing about someone? Have you misidentified their personality, their makeup, their character? What did you do once you discovered your mistake? Did you correct your opinion of them? Did you change how you reacted to them?

We can mistakenly misidentify a person’s character. Perhaps they present an initial impression that is misleading. We may have first seen them on a bad day. Or we may listen to other’s opinions which cause misperceptions. But are we willing to correct our first impression of them?

Perhaps you have been shunned by someone who has had an initial bad impression of you. Maybe you had a bad day when they first met you. You might have been off your game, not feeling well, or distracted by thoughts of a dire circumstance. We have heard we only get one chance to make a first impression. Though that is true for each of us, it is also true for everyone we meet. Yet, we all need to be willing to wait to formulate our full opinion of the person.

Jesus asked His disciples who other people were saying He was. They provided some interesting answers, all of them incorrect. We, too, can be incorrect in our understanding of who Jesus is. And if not completely incorrect, we may fail to have a full understanding of who He is, even if we confess Him to be our Savior.

To fully comprehend who Jesus is, we must step outside of human norms. We must see with spiritual eyes. We must use our imagination to see beyond the physical. We must think on a far grander scale than we see in our daily lives. Jesus is unlike any other human who has walked this earth. He is both fully human and fully divine. We all should reevaluate who we think Jesus is, realizing He is greater than anyone we have ever met.

I pray we all seek to better understand who Jesus is. I pray we see Him through spiritual eyes. I pray each one of us will spend time pondering who Jesus is and ask God to fully reveal Him to us. Reevaluate who Jesus is. Gain a deeper understanding of Him. Know He is greater than anyone you know.

Mark 8:27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

Bless and Curse

Do you know of anything that accomplishes opposites in the blink of an eye? Can a pump switch from oil to water that quickly? Can a flower go from dying to thriving that quickly? Can a car go from 0 to 60 with the snap of the fingers or vice versa? The answer is no to all of them.

Though we cannot create anything that accomplishes opposite things in the blink of an eye, we accomplish it ourselves. In one breath we speak blessings and in the next breath we curse someone. We think one thing and then another faster than we can take the next breath.

James tells us this should not be so. As followers of Jesus, we are not to tarnish our minds nor our mouths with such behavior. This not to say we are to be unrealistically happy every moment of every day. However, we are to realize that cursing another is not following Jesus. Read through the gospels. Look for Jesus to do what we do. You will not find it.

If we are going to follow Jesus and put our best effort into it, we cannot continue to think we can curse others. Though Jesus called the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes hard hearted and foolish, He did not curse them. No, He was striving to get them to understand who He is and to have a change of heart.

Changes of heart do not come after being cursed. Changes of heart do come after being blessed. We need to turn off the cursing spigot and turn the blessing spigot on full blast. That is not only following Jesus, but it is the way we will change this world. As our behavior becomes one of continual blessing, we will have the positive impact on our world that we desire.

I pray we all stop cursing others. I pray we decide to bless others every chance we get. I pray each one of us will choose to follow Jesus and work to change our world in a positive way. Stop cursing others. Bless others. Be a blessing to others. Follow Jesus. Change the world positively.

James 3:10-11 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water?

Tongue of Fire

Have you said things you regret later? Were you able to recover and correct it later? Were they divisive and hateful words? Were you able to ask for forgiveness and reconcile later? Have you had others say hateful words to you? Have you forgiven them?

When we say things we wish we hadn’t, we can’t take them back. We can’t undo them. The hurtful and hateful words cannot be erased no matter what we do. The best we can hope for is the other person will forgive us and we reconcile the relationship.

How do we avoid saying things we wish we hadn’t? Rather than speaking what immediately comes to mind, stop, think, and be cautious about what we say. We also need to make it part of our inner being to love one another. Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. When we love one another in the same way Jesus loves us, our love will drive what we say.

We can still speak truth. We can tell people hard truths. But we will do so in such a way that they can feel the love we have for them. Because of the love we have for them, we won’t spew the hateful and hurtful words that only come from evil thoughts. Our words will come from a pure heart that cares for others and seeks to serve Jesus.

James makes no bones about our tongues. He states they are fire. They speak iniquity. Our tongues stain our entire bodies. They set off a fire of hell that creates divisions through hurtful language. We can only control it by learning to love as Jesus loves. We would do good to spend more time listening and less time talking.

I pray we all seek to control our tongues. I pray we recognize it stains us and causes harm when we speak hateful words. I pray each one of us learn to love one another as Jesus loves us. Control your tongue. Know it stains you. Know it harms others. Love as Jesus loves. Speak in love.

James 3:5b-6 How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Teach Well

Do you like to teach? Do you enjoy providing people with information they did not have before? Do you like providing useful information that will help people? Have you ever made a mistake when teaching? Have you misspoken, whether accidentally or knowingly?

Teaching is an honorable profession. Most of us teach at some point, whether we realize it or not. We teach our children. We teach our grandchildren. We teach people we work with. We may even teach people we meet in the grocery store. Teaching occurs every day.

James cautions us against becoming teachers. Why? Teachers are held to a higher standard. When teachers make mistakes, many people point out the mistakes. Yet, we all make mistakes. But James is speaking to teaching about God. Making mistakes when teaching about God is more egregious than making mistakes when teaching about cooking.

When we teach, and we will, we are to ensure that what we teach is correct. We need to ensure we know the subject we are teaching thoroughly. When we teach, we need to be precise. We also need to ensure we not only teach but challenge people to think for themselves. We need to encourage them to come up with new ideas. At the same time, we should hold ourselves accountable for proper teaching.

I pray we all ensure we teach correctly. I pray we know that teaching is held to a higher standard. I pray each one of us will challenge those we teach to think for themselves. Teach correctly. Know you are held to a higher standard. Challenge your students. Teach them to think for themselves.

James 3:1-2 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle.

Stand Amazed

What amazes you? Are you amazed every day? Or do you walk through your day without seeing anything amazing? Do you look up at the stars at night in wonder? Or do you remain confined to your home? Are you in awe at the growth of plants. Or do you fail to see them with open eyes?

We take a lot for granted. We fail to notice the blooms on the dogwood trees in the spring or the rich colors of fall. We do not see the beauty of cloud formations or the intricate flight of the hummingbird. Out eyes are blinded by the regularity of the amazing sights all around us.

If we are willing to slow down, even for just a few moments, we can see the amazing handiwork of God. When we see it, the proper reaction is to give God the glory for his creation. When we take a few moments to think about the innumerable plants, creatures, and stars in the sky, we cannot help but be amazed.

I typically run three days per week. Those morning runs are a time for me to observe God’s creation and spend time in prayer. Though I often see the same things, I also try to take notice of what is different. I have seen deer, racoons, rabbits, squirrels, cows with calves, dogs, cats, all kinds of birds, and even a snake. Sometimes, on a clear night, I will step outside and simply gaze at the stars. Noticing each one and the differences in them help me see God’s amazing handiwork.

The more we notice, the more amazed we are. God has created every creature, plant, and star we see. We can also notice the differences in each person God has created. People watching is a favorite hobby of mine. I often wonder why they do the things they do, then I think, “God created each one of them, he gave them their DNA.” Each time I slow down to notice, I am amazed by God’s creative nature.

I pray we all slow down and notice God’s creation. I pray we give God the glory for his creation. I pray each one of us is amazed at the variety and creativity seen in the creatures, plants, and stars of God’s creation. Slow down. Notice God’s creation. Give God the glory. Be amazed.

Psalm 19:1

The heavens are telling the glory of God; 

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Wisdom and Foolishness

Do you seek out wisdom? Or do you scoff at those who do? Do you listen for wise speeches? Or do you turn your back on them? Do you accumulate knowledge? Or do you foolishly turn away from it. Do you think about God’s Word? Or do you focus solely on worldly things?

Wisdom does not come easy. It does not fall into our lap. Wisdom requires us to work for it. We not only must gather some knowledge, but we must use our minds to ponder the knowledge we have accumulated. As much as many of us may dislike it, wisdom also requires logic.

The logic required to be wise is not simple, worldly logic. It requires God’s logic, which does not always line up with worldly logic. The world may be telling us to go in one direction while God is telling us to go in another. The wise person will follow God’s logic, his wisdom to pursue the best path for our families.

The writer of proverbs personifies wisdom as a lady crying out in the streets, seeking people to come to her. Yet, so many walk away, ignoring her cry, scoffing at the possibility of becoming wise. Why? They think they already know enough. They falsely think they are in control. They falsely think they know the best option for themselves.

God calls out to us every day. He calls and waits for us to turn to him. We can play the fool and turn away. Or we can be wise and turn to him and listen to him. Wisdom will lead us to an abundant life and an eternity spent with God. Foolishness will lead us to eternal torment separated from God. We need to make the wise choice and turn to God.

I pray we all seek wisdom. I pray we spend time reading God’s Word, learning about him. I pray each one of us set aside the foolishness of the world for the wisdom of God. Seek God’s wisdom. Read God’s Word. Meditate on God’s Word. Turn away from worldly wisdom. Turn to God.

Proverbs 1:20-22

Wisdom cries out in the street; 

in the squares she raises her voice. 

At the busiest corner she cries out; 

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: 

 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? 

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing 

and fools hate knowledge?”