Wisdom Is What You Want

When I was in middle school, I lacked wisdom. Not because I was young but because I had poor decision-making. My intuition on what would bring me life and happiness was a bit misguided. This resulted in unfortunate incidents, such as me and my friend destroying a sheetrock wall in the boy's bathroom. Thankfully, I wised up. I began finding life in things that were healthier for me. I am confident my parents were glad too. The truth is, each of us still has bad instincts. We try to find life in things that bring us death. What we are searching for is wisdom.

Don’t be deceived

In the first chapter of the letter James, he tells his readers that wisdom is what they should seek. But they should also watch out for the deception of wealth and their will. This is reasonable caution for us today. Though we have experienced otherwise, we continue to believe that wealth and the busyness that comes with it will bring us life. But as James says, the wealthy will wither just like the flower in the field. One can certainly see plenty of withering that goes on in us and around us. Likewise, our will can also lead us astray. We tend to think that if we feel something or desire something, we should chase after it. That this longing, once satisfied, will bring us joy. James cautions that our desire can lead to sin, which leads to death. Just like a late-night desire for something salty can lead to a whole bag of Doritos disappearing, our desire for things in life can lead us astray.

Pursue wisdom 

The counter that James offers to the deception of wealth and will is to pursue wisdom. James teaches that if we lack wisdom, we should ask for it, and God will give it to us. He also tells us to cultivate it. But what kind of wisdom should we be cultivating? In James 3:17, wisdom is defined as “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” This is the type of wisdom we should pursue because we will be pursuing God.

The pursuit of wisdom requires action. Three steps are particularly helpful. One is to engage scripture. If we want to gain wisdom that is gentle and full of mercy, this is the kind of teaching we will find in the Scriptures. Second, we want to invite the influence of others. This requires us to be intentional. In our world, it is often assumed that we should keep our opinions to ourselves and affirm others. Because of this, we have to ask and tell people to give us direct feedback. This is helpful to protect ourselves against our tendency to be deceived. Finally, we should pray, asking God to give us wisdom and trust that God will offer it graciously.

Endure to mature

James begins his letter by saying that people should consider it joy when they have to undergo testing because enduring the challenge brings maturity. The trials we endure are not from God, but grace allows them to yield maturity. As Jesus says to the disciples, in this world, you will have trouble, but I have overcome the world.

Enduring challenge allows us to mature in wisdom. We first must frame the challenge, asking ourselves what does it look like to be wise (pure, peaceable, full of mercy)? Then we engage, knowing that enduring challenges will require grit and energy. Therefore, we also have to give ourselves space to refuel and rest. Then we repeat the steps because enduring challenge is an iterative process. Enduring will both wear us down and build us up, growing us in the wisdom we want.