Wisdom From Above
In fact, where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and every bad practice. But the wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then also peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere. (James 3:16–17)
Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot about how we have become more and more divided as a society. Instead of looking out for each other and loving one another, people have started looking out for themselves and not worrying about who they may hurt in the process. It seems that business has been that way for some time now. If you want to be like Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg, you can’t worry about what happens to the people in the wake you leave behind you. You just have to look forward and keep on moving up.
But God, through James, says that leadership doesn’t work that way. When we envy others and only look after our own ambitions and desires, we bring about disorder and bad practice. It is not wise to be envious and follow selfish desires. Instead, wisdom that comes from God looks out for others. It does what is right according to God. It does what brings peace and does not hurt others. It produces good fruits of faith and is sincere.
This is the wisdom that we pray that our leaders would have. We pray that our church leaders would have this kind of wisdom so that they can do what advances the gospel. We pray that our political and social leaders would have this kind of wisdom so that they may effectively and sincerely lead our society and by doing so, possibly lead more to seek the truth. And we ask God to give us this wisdom, so that we may do what is pleasing in his sight. We do this because of the grace that God has already shown to us by sending his Son Jesus to make us pure before God and give us the ability to produce good fruits. Amen.
The song for today is “Jesu, Joy of Our Desiring” by Martin Jahn