Hello Friends of Zion,

I hope you’re doing well! I was recently encouraged by a message about wisdom in James 3:13-18, so I thought I’d share it with you along with some thoughts. Wisdom, according to Proverbs, is fear of the Lord and is applying your heart to an understanding of God and his ways. James 3:13-16 says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

I love the link between wisdom and humility. Earthly wisdom, as this passage points out, is very self-centered, specifically characterized by envy and selfish ambition. As I tried to understand that more, I realized I can envy material things, but I can also envy things like relationships or the giftings of another person. For me, it can look like resentment, lack of gratitude, or coveting that keeps me self-focused, prideful, and striving. Selfish ambition asks the questions, What’s in it for me? Why is it worth my time? I can struggle to sacrifice my time when I think I’ll gain nothing. Honestly, this passage helped reset my mentality about wisdom to remind me that wisdom is not my own. It’s not something I produce. It’s the Lord’s.

James 3:17-18 goes on to list some characteristics of godly wisdom, saying, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” Jen Wilkin, an author I was reading and listening to, challenged us to ask God which of these evidences of wisdom needs to appear more in our lives and which relationships would benefit. One that sticks out to me is “full of mercy.” If I let go of resentment (envy), and humbly seek God’s ways (wisdom), how would the trait of mercy help me be a soft place for friends and family to land? I pray God will help me practice that daily.

To wrap up, I wanted to share verses 17-18 in the simplicity of The Message paraphrase, where it says, “Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others…You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.” Wow! That wording challenged me. In a time when people are being polarized by opinions about current events and issues, can I contribute to a healthy community “by getting along with others”? It’s not always easy to discern how to do that, but I pray God will grant me the humility and wisdom to put aside my agenda for the sake of getting along with others. I pray God will fill our lives with his wisdom displayed in love for others that allows us simply to get along with one another.

Erica Dienner