Heavenly Wisdom

"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." James 3:17

I love verses that are so dynamically charged with meaning in every word. This is quite a checklist from the half-brother of Jesus about how to tell if wisdom is from God or not. Let's go word by word with a little reflection on each one.

Pure-- unadulterated, unaltered, as untouched by humans as possible, which raises the purity level substantially.

Peace-loving-- unifying and helpful, promoting harmony, so drama-free.

Considerate-- thinking of the ramifications and consequences upfront, before we speak or write.

Submissive-- always totally subordinate to the Father and all God-ordained authority, keeps us from taking control.

Full of mercy-- even overflowing, not half-hearted, can't be judgmental.

Full of good fruit-- love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…..that is another check-list huh?

Impartial-- what is wise for one is wise for all, no favoritism.

Sincere-- without ulterior motivation or hidden agenda.

With those clarifications considered, maybe we aren't as wise as we think and maybe we haven't heard as much wisdom as we'd like to think. This is why we must stick closer to The Book. There is a lot of info that just isn't from heaven. God, make us more discerning between what is The Truth and the other stuff. I am recommitting to being a Truth-seeker and not just an info gatherer.

Spread only what is wisdom from heaven, you will have much less to say and/or write. Enough said and written? Yep!!

Pastor Fred

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