James starts with an assumption: that there will be those among the listeners who need some wisdom
Meaning of SOPHIA:
Not just “smarts”
Not just “someone who knows a lot”
It is a practical wisdom
It was sometimes used for the kind of “knowledge” a skilled craftsperson has, someone whose knowledge enables them to complete certain tasks well.
It is the: “capacity to understand and, as a result [of that understanding], to ACT wisely.”
“Sophia” wisdom demonstrates itself in wise actions.
Pilots go to flight school so they can learn all they need to know about flying
They learn about all those zillions of instruments and gauges they’ll find in the cockpit.
But even beyond that, they learn about how planes work, about aerodynamics and wind speeds and altitude
They learn a LOT about airplanes – and not just the specifics of what lever to pull and what knob to twist
They don’t know everything about everything when they get out of flight school, but they know a LOT about flying
Why do they need to know that stuff?
Why don’t they just teach them which lever to pull and which knob to twist and how far?
I don’t know how my TV works, but I can watch it and change the channels
I don’t know how my car works, but I can drive it.
They learn all that other stuff because they may come into situations that don’t fit all their previous learning
They need to have understanding and insight, so when they come into those kinds of situations, they will have:
the “capacity to understand and, as a result [of that understanding], to ACT wisely.”
And what kind of pilot do you want to have?
The kind who was only trained about the levers and knobs?
Or the kind who has a greater understanding so that when he or she comes into difficult situations, they can draw on that understanding?
I know what kind I want!
Ok, so what does all this flight talk have to do with us? James is saying that there are some of us who are going to need some wisdom. Maybe not wisdom to fly an airplane, but the wisdom to chart our course in uncertain territory.
So, who needs this kind of wisdom?
Parents who want their children to be responsible, capable adults need wisdom.
And if those parents want their children to grow up to be strong in their faith, they’ll need even more wisdom
Because with all the books and magazines and seminars and parents who have gone before, every parent faces issues every day that just aren’t covered in those things
There is no manual that says, “Just pull this lever or twist this know and everything will turn out right.”
Parents need wisdom, the “capacity to understand and, as a result [of that understanding], to ACT wisely.”
But is it just parents who need wisdom?
How about those who face ethical dilemmas, whether at school or at work or at home
Teenagers who look around and say, “My friends are all drinking… They’ll think I’m a loser if I don’t.”
They need not just the knowledge of what’s right and wrong, they need the kind of insight that makes them WANT to make the right choice
The understanding of how their present can impact their future
They need the kind of wisdom that produces a single-minded determination to do what’s right
Those who find themselves in an intensely competitive work place, who watch as those around them get ahead by cutting corners, bending the rules, or fudging the numbers.
They need real wisdom – the kind of insight that makes it possible to do the right thing, even if it isn’t the most profitable thing.
They need the kind of wisdom that produces a single-minded determination to do what’s right
Those who are preparing their taxes and don’t see why they have to report EVERYTHING to the IRS
Don’t they take enough as it is?
We need the kind of wisdom that produces a single-minded determination to do what’s right
Do you need that kind of wisdom? I DO!
Suppose you’re driving some place far from home. You have a business appointment and you need to get to a place you’ve never been before. You’re not familiar with the landmarks or the route numbers.
You started out ok, but now you’re at a crossroads that isn’t on your map and you aren’t sure where to go. You’re kind of in the middle of nowhere, and there are very few passersby. As much as you HATE to do it, you decide you’d better ask directions from the next person you see. Now, pay attention: you have to remember these directions! There will be a quiz later.
A kind-looking older gentleman tells you, “It’s not hard at all. Just keep going up this road. You’ll see a school. Turn left at the school, and then take your first left and your second right and you’ll be there.”
GREAT! You thank him and head on your way, with a sense of relief. Now that you know where you’re going, you can enjoy the scenery a bit. You start to whistle.
You drive a mile. No school.
Two miles. No school.
Five miles. 10 miles; no school.
How long would you keep driving on that same road?
Here’s the quiz on the directions: How long did the man tell you to drive? [Trick Question! He didn’t! He just said, “Keep going up this road (until) you see a school.”]
Ok, we’ve had a quiz, now we’ll take a survey (Surveys are a lot more fun than quizzes, because you can answer a survey anyway you darn well please!)
Survey: Who would stop after 1 mile? …
Whatever your limit is, at some point, a process begins in your brain. It starts like this:
Seems like I should’ve passed that school by now.
Could I have missed it? Should I keep going?
Maybe it’s around that next bend.
Maybe I was supposed to veer to the left back there a ways – but this seemed like the main road.
Maybe that person was confused.
Maybe he just forgot one turn. You know how that is, you’re so familiar with a route that you almost forget some of the details.
Maybe he sent me on this wild goose chase just to be funny.
No, he seemed too nice to do something like that
Although didn’t his eyes look just a little shifty?
And all the while, you’re still driving.
What’s happening?
It’s like you’ve got two minds stuffed into one skull… and they’re arguing!
One mind is driving forward, doing what it was told, and acting in faith in the person who gave the directions.
The other is doubting the directions, doubting your ability to follow the directions, doubting the ability, the memory or the character of the one who gave them to you.
One mind says “STOP!”; the other says “GO!”
(It’s exhausting, isn’t it?!?!!)
Ok, let’s review our dilemma:
We needed wisdom – we needed to be given directions
We got the directions, and they sounded fine at the time.
But now we’re having a hard time following them because they don’t match our expectations
We thought we’d reach the school in 2-3 miles.
So we doubt. We become, as most of the versions have it “the double-minded man” – the double minded person
Martin Luther said: Human nature is like a drunk peasant. Lift him into the saddle on one side, over he topples on the other side.
“Maybe I should stop; maybe I should go; maybe I should stop….”
Ok, I’m going to tell you something about your problem that I hope will help:
The man who gave the directions was not confused or forgetful or mean-spirited
His directions are absolutely accurate
You just have to keep driving on that road until you get to the school.
“But how far?” I don’t know how far
I only know if you follow the directions, you’ll get there.
What if – when you got frustrated – you stopped and asked someone else and they told you what I just told you? “The man who gave the directions was not confused or forgetful or mean-spirited. His directions are absolutely accurate. You just have to keep driving on that road until you get to the school. I don’t know how far. I only know if you follow his directions, you’ll get there.”
How many of you would now be willing to drive further than you said in the survey?
Would you be willing to drive as long as it took until you got to the school?
What’s the difference?
What has happened inside your own heart and mind that made the difference?
You lost a mind!!
But fortunately, you had two!!
You needed to lose one of them!
Now, you don’t have a battle inside, with one mind saying GO and the other saying STOP
Another way to say it is that you now have FAITH
You are no longer doubting, questioning, second-guessing
You have been assured about the character and the qualifications of the one who gave the directions
You’re following directions
Some of us hate following directions!
But there is a peace in following directions if we know that by following them we’ll get where we want to go.
And so you’re whistling again as you drive
You’re looking at the scenery again
You’re not enduring the battle of the minds inside your own head
You now have a single-minded determiniation to follow the directions given to you by your Advisor
So we’ve been “on the road” here for quite a while. What does any of this have to do with James 1, or with any of us?
If we were in English class, I guess we’d call my little story an allegory
An allegory is a story where each element stands for something else
Like: the road in the story is your life
You are the driver
You’re not really sure where the future will lead –
you’re not always sure how to get to where you’d like to be
The directions you need stand for the wisdom you need to your destination
The guy you asked for directions?
You’re probably catching on now, right?
He’s God
Now, like all allegories, it’s not perfect and you can’t push it too far,
Like, who is supposed to determine the ultimate destination?
In our story, we had decided the destination, and then asked for directions to where we wanted to go
In reality, we need to seek God for the directions to the place where HE wants us to go.
If we want to go our own way, we don’t need God’s directions!
So, let’s rethink the story in those terms
We come to the realization that we need God’s wisdom for something.
And so we ask Him
That’s what James says to do! God is a GENEROUS giver. He LOVES to give to His children.
Imagine how you would feel if one of your kids came to you and said, “Mom/Dad, I really need some help on what I should do, and I really value your opinion. Would you please share your wisdom with me?”
How many of you who are parents would say (after they administered smelling salts), “No! Figure it out yourself!”
Of course not! You would be thrilled that they wanted your help, your wisdom. So is God!!!
And the way this verse is in the original makes it clear that God is happy to give his wisdom and insight not just on rare occasions, but over and over and over again. As often as we ask! Where do we get the answers? The place to find a lot of the answers is in THE BOOK. But maybe you need the answer to a question that you can’t find in the book, a question that’s specific to you and your situation
Then you pray: you ask, you LISTEN, you WAIT until you have a clear sense of God’s leading. It might take a while.
You need to test the answer against THE BOOK to make sure that the “sense” you have isn’t just your own voice. It would probably help to talk about it with trusted friends – especially those who have learned to listen to God
Ask them to pray for you. Better yet, ask them to pray WITH you
Ask… Listen… Wait
Ok, let’s go back to the allegory again
You got directions – then what happened?
You followed them, for a while
Then the doubts started
When you were doubting the directions, what were you really doubting?
You were doubting the one who gave them to you
You were wondering if he was trustworthy
You were wondering about his character
You were wondering if he was capable
And you were comparing the wisdom he gave with something else…
What were you comparing it to?
You were comparing it to your own wisdom!
You were saying, “I know he said keep going, but I don’t think that can be right.”
You may also have been doubting your own ability to follow the directions… but that messes up my analogy, so I’m ignoring it!
So you had the Battle of the Minds: two of them duking it out in your head!
One saying, “Trust God! He knows what He’s doing!”
The other screaming, “NO! NO! NO! I know what’s best for me! God may not take me where I want to go!”
That’s a DOUBLE-MINDED person
James says that a double minded person shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord
That used to bother me. Mostly, because I have battles like this going on ALL the time. In fact, I think I get three or four minds in there all at once. All with different ideas and opinions. All just screaming at each other!
And I thought, “Lord, I’m an indecisive person, it’s not fair that you wouldn’t give me wisdom just because of that!”
But it doesn’t say, “God won’t give anything to the double-minded”
It says, “The double-minded shouldn’t expect to receive anything.”
When all my minds are yelling and screaming, how can I here God saying, “It’s over here.. go this way.”
Many of us consider God’s way as being one possible option. “Well, I’ll think about it, ask some people about it, pray about it – and then decide which plan I like best”
But God doesn’t play that game
If we pray, “Lord, I’d like you to tell me what to do. If I think you’ve got a good idea, maybe I’ll do it your way.”
It’s for OUR benefit that he doesn’t answer those prayers.
Because if he says, “Mary, drive north til you get to the school”
And I say, “I don’t want to go that way,” we’re responsible for a greater disobedience than if we hadn’t asked for His direction.
James tells us if we pray, we must pray “In faith”
That doesn’t mean, “we never doubt for a second what we’ve heard.”
We can hear wrong
It means we decide beforehand that we will go God’s Way, no matter what His way is.
It means having faith in the character of the one who gives the wisdom, even if the road seems like a dead end.
It means clinging to HIM even when we feel like we’ve run off the road.
Asking in faith means praying with a single-minded determination to receive God’s wisdom.
And when we pray like that God gives us the wisdom that produces a single-minded determination to do what’s right
Does anyone of you need wisdom? Ask God who gives freely to all! And Him, because wisdom that produces a single-minded determination to do what’s right can only come by asking in Faith
