Wisdom...do you lack it? What is it? Well, the word used in this text has 2 kinds of wisdom in its definition. 1. The intelligence and knowledge that is known to humans. 2. The supreme intelligence that God has. What if wisdom involves knowing what you are about? For example, there was an old man. The old man was timid, but God got a hold of him. He had no military experience, yet he led a revolution. Well kind of, there wasn't really a war involved like you'd think of normally. An oppressed people group in Egypt was set free. Not because of any cunning military strategy or sophisticated negotiation by the old man. The people group was freed because the old man knew what he was about. He was about the business of hearing God, speaking what he heard and waving his rod. So there came a time when Moses stood before the sea with a pursuing Egyptian army behind, and rock walls on both sides, but no boats in sight....now what? Well, he could choose between 2 kinds of wisdom. Human wisdom would be to develop the knowledge and intelligence needed to navigate this sea. Which might work if Moses had the time. Yet, there was another kind. The kind of supreme intelligence that only God has. So, how to tap into that? By simply asking God, speaking what he heard, and moving his rod accordingly.
What does it mean to know what you are about? Well, the way I'm using it and thinking of it is. To understand who God created you to be, and then to simply be willing to be that person. This is not to say that you should never seek to learn and grow. Rather, simply pursuing wisdom without asking God for it like James said to do is skipping the most important step. So, slow down, if you don't have time to talk to God, to understand from Him why you are here and what you should be going after, you're too busy. Once God shows you what you are about. Defined as, understanding why you are where you are and who you are called to be in that space. Then, and only then, should you be seeking out the self-improvement needed to be that person. Are you called into business? Then learn about all the things about running a business the way God would run it. The church? Learn about why God created the church, and how to serve her the way He would serve her if He were you. Or to put a finer point on it, in both cases, let God live through you.
When you ask God for wisdom, believe that it will happen. It's that simple. Vacillating back and forth, casting about, and staying busy with mindless activities to fill that emptiness is such a waste of energy, it's like rolling back and forth with the wind, like a mindless wave. It's like the college student who starts half a dozen things but never gets a degree in anything. That emptiness is probably just the place that the "purpose piece" plugs into. God holds that, and He will install it. Please don't waste God's resources both physical things like money and non-physical things like time trying to buy purpose. It will never happen that way. There is absolutely nothing on this earth that a born-again believer can possibly do to increase his value in God's eyes. There is absolutely nothing on this earth that a born-again believer can possibly do to decrease his value in God's eyes. The things of this earth will all pass, they are temporary means to an end whether good or evil is up to you. Seek purpose from the Lord, then the thing He has entrusted you with will be turned towards a Godly end.
In summary:
We are too busy knowing everything to have time for God's wisdom. It's really quite pitiful.
Don't trust the world's idea of worth. The world thinks your worth is the temporary tools at your disposal. That's dumb. Your worth is your identity. Who you are in Christ. That's eternal. If you are born again, then you are eternally a son or a daughter of God. You can literally live in eternity! You are not an animal or a machine. YOu have a divine stamp or likeness to the One who created all the good things.
Don't trust the world's idea of good or evil. It's based on man's conscience of right and wrong, moral outrage, and political correctness which can agree with God on some level but is often desperately flawed. Especially the last one, there shouldn't be a political element to correctness for crying out loud. Good and evil are actually very very simple. Any act that obeys God is good. Any act that disobeys God is evil.
Seeking the wisdom from God like James talked about to me is like this: Ask God for your purpose, ie, your reason for being here and who He created you to be while here, then you will know what you are about. After that, be obedient to what you are about. That will be obedience to God, therefore wise, and good.
Did I mention that we are too busy to have any time for God's wisdom? Both in our worldly pursuits and in doing God's things our way.
Whenever in this rambling article that hopefully wasn't too much of a diatribe I wrote the word "you," I was talking to myself. Thanks for following along. If you want to ask me clarifying questions, you may, but, I might not understand what I wrote either, perhaps we can figure it out together. 😊
This has been a rather public address to a trained expert in various forms of foolishness by the same trained expert in various forms of foolishness.
-Loren
