What Wisdom Looks Like

“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace-loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.” James 3:17-18

This verse in James describes me. Well, maybe not the me that I am all the time, but the me that I would like to be - the ideal me. Hopefully, it describes the ideal you as well. 

James encourages his readers in chapter one to ask God for wisdom (James 1:5). Here in chapter 3, he gives a detailed description of what we are asking for when we ask God for wisdom.

Wisdom from above looks like this:

• It’s pure - a wise person is free from any impurities in his life.

• It’s peace-loving - a wise person is peaceful in the sense of not causing strife or division.

• It’s gentle at all times -a wise person is fair, courteous, and considerate.

• It’s willing to yield to others - a wise person is rational rather than subject to his own emotions.

• It’s full of mercy and good deeds - a wise person is merciful to others as God has been merciful to us.

• It shows no favoritism - a wise person does not make distinctions based on partial judgments.

• It’s always sincere - a wise person is genuine with no pretenses.

I don’t know about you, but I need an extra helping of this kind of wisdom operating in my life. I’m not sure if any of us can walk in God’s wisdom all the time, but with God’s help, we can strive to be more like him so that we can plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.