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#DailyDevotion Are You Working With Demonic Or Godly Wisdom?

#DailyDevotion Are You Working With Demonic Or Godly Wisdom?

James 3:13-4:1

13Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

1What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.

 

There probably aren’t too many wise men with understanding in the world today, particularly in politics but also among Christians. Whose works among us look like meekness of wisdom? Where is our good conduct? Yes it is lacking also among us who point this out.

 

What causes this? Well the wisdom of the world. Back in the seventies there was a best seller, “Looking out for number one.” It may have had some good points but the title points us in a direction other than the way God points us. Looking out for number one, yourself has a sense of wisdom to it but it isn’t godly wisdom. James says this wisdom is demonic. Look at its fruits: bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, vile practices. Such is not the path Christ Jesus has called us to when we called us to be one with him.

 

What does the wisdom from above look like what are its fruits: pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, merciful, good fruits, impartial and sincere. I have to admit I often fall a little short here, maybe sometimes a lot short. How about you? Particularly think about being gentle, open to reason, merciful, and impartial (well maybe that’s me but you get the drift). Well we obviously aren’t getting what we want and our passions (our perverted desires) are getting the better of us and we commit ourselves to getting our way no matter what. Yet this is not the path Jesus has called us to walk.

 

Perhaps each day as we interact with people we can ask God to help us with one of these aspects. As you deal with people today ask God to help you to be open to reason. The next day ask him to help you be gentle and so on. When you are disturbed ask yourself if you are being selfish (it’s harder to determine than you think sometimes because you have already convinced yourself of many justifications of why you are doing what you are doing). Jesus sought our good. Jesus was not thinking of himself when he went to the cross but was thinking of you and your good. As we follow him and his cross, he asks us to do the same for the people he has placed among us.

 

Heavenly Father, far too often our passions wage war within us and we do not think and act with godly wisdom. Forgive us for the sake of Christ Jesus and give us your heavenly wisdom that we may bear the fruits of that wisdom in our interactions with our fellow man that Jesus Christ may receive the glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

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