Together - Wisdom; James

May the mumbling commence!

Do you want to be viewed as wise?  Know that true, godly wisdom cannot be removed from our relationships.  Wisdom cannot survive when relationships are not kept in perfect balance – when relationships are totally right.  Read from James chapter three (Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom?  Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly.  It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts.  Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom.  Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom.  Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom.  It’s the furthest thing from wisdom – it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving.  Whenever you’re trying to look better than others to get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the other’s throats.

Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others.  It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not tow-faced.  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.  (Verses 13-18)  

A wise and holy life is characterized by getting along with others.  That can be a bitter pill to swallow.  Getting along with others can be hard work.  But, if we wish to be healthy and whole as a community, we must fully apply ourselves to getting along.  “The more we get together, the happier we’ll be”!  There is often profound wisdom in the songs that children sing.

Only together in imitation of Christ can we look our best – be wise. 

The essence of our wisdom is destroyed beyond repair by trying to twist things to make us look good and right.  The essence of our wisdom is destroyed when we denigrate others to make ourselves look better in comparison.  Actions like these ones only serve to divide us.

When we are divided, Satan laughs.  That has been his plan from the beginning.

 I need you to be all that I can be.  You need me to be all that you can be.  We need each other.  And together we need the steady guiding presence of the Holy Spirit of the living God.

Being wise is hard work!  There are no shortcuts.  Let’s get to work!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out