For the past two days, we have been looking at the different types of wisdom. We first of all looked at human wisdom and yesterday we looked at devilish wisdom. Today, I want to look at the third, godly wisdom.
God is the source of the wisdom from above. We read in Proverbs 2: 6 “For the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding.” No wonder James the brother of Jesus encouraged us to ask God for wisdom and not try to figure life out on our own (Jam 1: 5). If you want to live to please God, you will need His wisdom. It is non-negotiable. If you want to reign in life, you need wisdom that is from above. No matter who and what you want to become in God’s kingdom, wisdom is a prerequisite and a requirement.
Unfortunately, many people are not looking at the wisdom from above because it contradicts both human and devilish wisdom. It stands to produce what will only bring glory to God. Apostle James described the nature of this wisdom so that we can know what it is and fully appropriate it.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy" (James 3: 17).
- It is from above: The first thing apostle James pointed out to us is that this wisdom is from above, not abroad. It comes directly from the throne of God. It is from God Himself. So, it is His wisdom and it reflects His nature and is meant to bring Him glory. It is not tainted with human errors neither is there is any interference from the demonic world. It is from the father of light in whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning. Because this wisdom is from above, it supersedes and is superior to every other wisdom because anything from above is above all. That means if the wisdom you claim to have is not being used to bring glory to His name, then we must question where you get it from.
- It is pure: Purity is a disposition of the heart and as author Skip Moen says: “until the heart is clean, the hands will always be dirty.” The wisdom from above is unadulterated. It is authentic, genuine, and sacred. There is no compromise in it. It is chaste. It is holy or set apart for God’s use. It is consecrated because it stems out of the fear of God. It’s untainted by pride, jealousy, or self-interest. It is about moral disposition and living blamelessly. So, it must not be used for any other purpose than what God has ordained it for, We cannot use it to manipulate people or cheat them, We can only use it to accomplish God’s purpose. This might be one of the reasons many of us are not acting wisely because we are not using God’s wisdom for His intended purpose. We are wasting it on ourselves.
- It is also important that we must be clean vessels to operate this wisdom. God does not reside in dirty temple. Some of us think of God’s grace as the license to live anyhow we want. But, if we want to enjoy this pure wisdom, we MUST depart from iniquity. We must be clean and remain clean. Any and every deviation of purity makes us to live as fools.
- Another point worth noting about purity is that it is very clear, no ambiguity or confusion. It brings clarity and helps you shed light on things. It helps us unravel difficult issues and then makes our faces shine in the process.
- Purity also speaks about reverence. When we operate God’s wisdom, we are respectful and we honor people irrespective of our status in life. We don’t belittle anyone. We don’t speak evil of anyone and that includes ourselves.
- On the other hand, this wisdom makes us pure as well. It reminds us not to get our hands dirty. It also reminds us to take heed to ourselves and be very careful how we live because.
- It is peaceable: There is no wisdom in chaos. God’s wisdom brings about peace within and without. It helps us work for peace. When we operate in God’s wisdom, we are easily pacified. We do everything possible to work for and achieve peace. It does not support conflict but work very hard to resolve it.
- When all of us operate in God’s wisdom, we too are peaceful. We don’t fight. We allow peace to reign even if we have to go the extra mile (Rom 12: 18). Peace and patience go hand in hand. If you want to live in peace, you must be patient with others. You are not living wisely if you are always picking fights and quarreling with others.
- The wisdom from above also helps you to live in alignment with God. You are one with Him and you seek for things that make for peace. So, peace begins with living in alignment and being in harmony with God and then the people around you, If you are not living in peace as long as it lies in you, you are not exhibiting God’s wisdom.
- This peace produces rest. So, the wisdom from above ensures that you are well-rested.
- It is Gentle: The peace from above also helps you to be cool, calm, and collected. You learn how to annex your strength. It is content. It is not in a hurry. It is relaxed because it knows that God is at work. In addition, when you operate with the wisdom from above, you are considerate. You don’t rush to conclusions. You look at the core of things before you make your judgment.
- Another aspect of gentleness is about imitating or being like someone. When you are gentle you act as Jesus would. You take after Jesus in your words and deeds. You act as though He is the one doing the work. I wonder how well our lives would be if we were living out Christ every day.
- When you exhibit gentleness, you are not living as though you have anything to prove because you have accepted what God has done for you through Christ. You accept your righteousness because He made you righteous. You are comfortable in your own skin and you are at home within yourself because Christ lives in you.
- It is willing to yield: When you operate with the wisdom that is from above, you are compliant, cooperative, and collaborative. You can easily be persuaded. You are not a complainer. You believe all things that God has said without questioning or doubting. Please be careful not to reason yourself out of God’s word and decrees. We must reason ourselves into doing what God knows that we are capable of doing because His seed is in us. Please understand that God will not demand from you what you don’t have grace for. He will not expect fruit from what He has not seeded into you,
- Willingness to yield also implies that you can be easily persuaded to do what is right. That means it is foolish for you to allow people to put pressure on you to do what is wrong or act contrary to what you believe in.
- Willingness to yield also has the intonation of being teachable. Every child of God must possess a teachable spirit because we don’t know everything. You must allow God’s Spirit to teach you what you don’t know about Himself, yourself, others, and the environment you live in. If you are unteachable, you will lose lots of opportunities.
- It is full of mercy: God who is the only wise God is naturally merciful and because of this, every act of mercy is an act of wisdom. It is not harsh. The wisdom from above is full of kindness and goodwill towards others, especially, the undeserving. Remember that God does not always chide. King David in Psalm 103: 8-12 reflected on this: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.” Hallelujah!
- What this is saying is this, we must be merciful just as our father in heaven is. Sadly enough, some of us are not merciful or kind to ourselves. We don’t treat ourselves well, talk less of others. We don’t extend compassion to ourselves, we beat ourselves down for our mistakes. When we adopt the wisdom of God, we don’t feel sorry for ourselves but we accept God’s forgiveness which is an act of His love and mercy.
- It is productive: God’s wisdom is full of good fruits. When the wisdom from above is operational in your life, you have something to show for it. The Bible speaks about the fruits of our lips praising God. When we are full of wisdom, we are generous in our gratitude to God and others. We are thankful. We don’t take things for granted. We celebrate His goodness. We don’t take credit for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do,
- Bringing good fruits is about being a blessing to others because of the way God has made you to be. You are able to think beyond yourself. You are not selfish in your approach and you look for ways to help, bless, and be kind to others. You are not withholding what can be beneficial to others. Author Skip Moen once asserted: “good fruit fulfills the expectation of its design. It nourishes. It sustains. It provides health. It does what God intended it should do. It has the right color, the right texture, the right smell and most of all, it satisfies when it is eaten.” That means yielding good fruits is about doing what God intends for you to do. So, wisdom is doing you as a way of becoming a blessing to others wherever you find yourself. It also includes speaking the right words. A person’s wisdom is shown in how they speak.
- We read in Proverbs 18: 20 “Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach; good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.” Also, in Proverbs 13: 2 “A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.” Proverbs 12:14 “By fruitful speech a man is filled with good things, and the work of his hands returns to him.” You can either be productive or destructive with your words.
- It is without partiality: Wisdom is acting like God would, especially in the way we deal with others who are different from us. God is not partial and He does not support injustice. When you operate with the wisdom from above, you deal fairly with everyone. You are about equity. You treat people with respect. You are not biased in your opinion. You are clear about your expectations. You don’t discriminate. You don’t criticize. You are just. Moses Israel’s first lawgiver told them in the book of Deuteronomy 16: 19 “You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.” Solomon the wisest king in Israel also echoed the same thing in Proverbs 24: 23, “These also are sayings of the wise: To discriminate and show partiality, having respect of persons in judging, is not good.”
- It is without hypocrisy: The wisdom from above is straightforward. It is sincere. It does not carry deception. It is interesting that many people that we call smart today have perfected the art of deceiving others. They see people as a means to their end. They use people. They use what they know to control and manipulate others. They used people’s fear against them. The Bible is very clear that the wisdom from about is none of this. It doesn’t try to play tricks on others.
Please take a careful look at James 3: 17 again to see whether you are exhibiting God’s wisdom or living for your own self.
Prayer: Lord, help me to exhibit the wisdom from above so that I can live like you wherever I find myself in Jesus’ name. Amen!
