Imagine that a genie appeared to you just like in the movie Aladin. Instead of granting you 3 wishes, you get the economy version and the genie tells you that you are granted 1 wish of your choice. (As Genie on Aladin says, “Ixniah on wishing for more wishes”) What do you choose? So many things that you need. Would it be money? Power? Position? Would you want some difficult situation resolved? Tough question isn’t it?!
A situation like this happened one time. It was during a transition time in the nation of Israel. King David had recently died and there was a new king on the throne, David’s son Solomon. God came to him in a dream and told him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” With no qualifications, provisos, or anything, Solomon could have asked for the world. Instead he asked for something that could give him the world, wisdom. “Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties….So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” I think it is safe to say that the first act of wisdom that marked the life of Solomon was his decision to ask God for wisdom when the opportunity arose.
I have a book on my shelf at home How To Do Everything Right. It covers all kinds of practical issues from taxes to travel tips, and even tells you how to find lost contact lenses in the carpet. Wouldn’t it be nice if all you had to have is a copy of a 75 page book to know how to do everything right?
But wisdom doesn’t come that easily, does it? Some issues can’t be translated into black and white on a page.
- When your children or your parents or your siblings are giving you fits, the books don’t always have the answers.
- That book doesn’t have any chapter entitled, “How to fix everything that is broken, including relationships, hearts, and trust.” Life is really not that easy that you could get a couple of experts together, ask a few questions, and have the answers. Why, you would be lucky to get the experts to agree what the questions are.
That’s why James spends no little amount of time discussing wisdom in his book. Remember, in his letter, James is interested in telling us how to experience “everyday worship.” How to live life facing God. After beginning his book by diving into the deep end with a discussion about suffering, he moves right into the subject of wisdom. This morning we are going to look at James 1:5-8; 3:13-18. I want you to notice something. If you look at the passage in your bible you will notice that his words about wisdom in chapter 1 are within his discussion of how to deal with suffering. That is no accident. I have found that it is in the middle of the hardest times that we need wisdom the most.
- When you are suffering through the pain of health tragedies, there are often life and death decisions that need to be made.
- When life has thrown you a curve ball and the most unthinkable situation occurs, you have to decide how to respond.
- When your situation changes such as when you lose your job, a loved one dies, you graduate from school, or you go through some other type of life transition, you will invariably find yourself in situations that call for wisdom. Decisions have to be made, and there isn’t always a handy reference book to tell you “How to do everything right.” So what do you do? (Pause)
James says that you should turn to God. (Read James 1:5-8) What a pious sounding answer. It almost sounds like one of those generic church answers for anything that we are so good at giving. Some time back I spoke in the evenings to a group of 4-5 graders at church camp. You want to talk about a challenge, keeping the attention of these kids for 15-20 minutes while getting a message across. I tried to involve them by asking questions. The first night I started out talking about the Hall of Fame. I asked the question, “What is the highest honor for a baseball player?” Hands went flying up into the air. The first girl I called on said, “Jesus.” Now how do you respond to that one? “Well, that is usually a good answer, but not the one I was looking for.” I restated the question and got them on the right track.
We are so conditioned to hearing the church answers that we repeat them without thinking. And that doesn’t work with my mind, because I’m way too skeptical about pat answers. So when James says, “If you lack wisdom, ask God,” all kinds of red flags go up. That sounds way too simplistic for something that so many people struggle with. And just how does God tell me the answers? Is He going to write on a wall, or will it come in a bolt of lightning, or will I get a warm feeling in my belly when I come upon the right answer. That’s the way many today determine what to do, according to if it feels right or not. But as I looked at what James said about wisdom, I noticed that he didn’t say “If any of you lacks answers, he should ask God.” God is not the “Shell Answer Man,” doling out advice. God is not a book that claims to tell us “How to do everything right.”
Who God is, is the one who designed the universe and set into motion the way it works. As such, He is the one who knows how you and I will function most effectively within it. I frequently use the idea of an owner’s manual to help people understand. (manufacturer sets standards, knows what is best for the vehicle, lays it out in the owner’s manual. I am wise to obey)
In preparation for my sermons I read books and listen to the ideas of other Christian teachers and preachers. I was amazed at how often the teaching on this text talked about asking God for answers. “Should I buy this house?, Should I take this job?, Should I make this choice or that choice?” Folks, that is a bunch of hog-wash! I don’t believe that God is interested in giving out real estate advice or job counseling. James did not say, “If any of you lacks an answer to a question, pray and He will tell you.” It is wisdom that God wants to give us, not advice.
God is not so concerned about where you live as how you live. He is not hung up on what you do for a living as He is the kind of living you do. (Read 3:13-18) Do you see what James is defining wisdom as. It is “Knowing how to live the way God wants us to.” That is a profound difference from knowing how to get ahead in life. Wisdom according to James is “knowing how to get Godly.”
Notice the contrast he paints.
Earthly wisdom: envious, selfish ambition, boasting, evil practices, disorderly. (If you want to get ahead in this life, learn how to live like this)
Heavenly wisdom: humility, purity, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, impartial, sincere. (If you want to get ahead in God’s eyes, learn how to live like this)
Let me clarify something. There might be times when God might be interested in what house you live in. (stretching yourself to buy a home or a car that is poor stewardship or overextends you so that you can’t live a life of generosity) But I don’t believe God cares if you drive a Ford or a Chevy, foreign or domestic. What matters more to him is the way you treat people when you are behind the wheel.
One more issue that is very important to understand out of this passage. It is this idea of being “double-minded.” James wants us to understand that there is a danger of trying to straddle the fence. You see, there are some people who will try to double-dip their wisdom. They want the best of both worlds, drawing from God’s wisdom and the wisdom of this world. They won’t commit.
- Have you ever known someone who lived a life of moral purity, they would never think of doing anything wrong, pure as the driven snow. But they live that pure lifestyle and make sure that everyone knows it so that they can feed their pride.
- Have you ever known someone who was very helpful always doing things to give a hand to others, but in reality it was just a ploy in order to manipulate others and get them to do what they wanted.
- Have you ever known someone who was interested in having a “smidgen of religion.” They want just enough of God to get them out of hell, but not enough to change the way they lived.
I know you’ve known someone like that, because there is a little bit of that in every one of us. That is so often what holds us back from full commitment. We want to drag that foot on the other side of the fence just in case we need it over there some time. When we do that, James says we are “double-minded,” and we limit the blessings that we receive from God when we limit our Godliness by half-heartedly following.
Nobody exemplified that more than Solomon. He had wisdom, but he also tried to get ahead by other means. His story in the O.T. is the perfect portrait of a double-minded person when you read it closely. (Read 1 Kings 11:1-6) Let me explain what was going on.
- God told the nation of Israel that if they would trust Him, He would protect them from other nations that would try to destroy them. Solomon said he trusted God for protection, but he made treaties with other kings, just in case. The Bible tells us that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. In that day most of those marriages and arrangements were made to secure political alliances with foreign governments. It was a picture of double-minded wisdom.
- Solomon sought God with sacrifices and he even built the beautiful Temple in Jerusalem, but he also allowed his wives and political alliances to persuade him to offer sacrifices to other gods. It is a way of hedging your bets, just in case those gods turn out to be helpful too.
God doesn’t want us to be like that! He is seeking full-time followers who are completely devoted to Him. And the incredible thing is that when we are single-minded in our devotion to Him, we become wise. That doesn’t mean we know all the answers to every question. It does mean that we become like the wise person that James describes in 3:17 (read verse). I long for that kind of life. If you do too, if you want to be wise in the way that God calls us to, then let me briefly offer you three ways to fully adopt the wisdom of God.
1. Allow God’s Spirit to fill you.
The beginning point of adopting God’s wisdom into your life is to completely give your life to Him. When we make Jesus Christ our Lord, the Bible tells us that we are given an incredible gift. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God comes and dwells in us, and He guides us to live godly lives if we will listen to Him. Just before His death, Jesus told his disciples in John 14:15-17, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
That promise was fulfilled in Acts 2. Peter preached a sermon, and as he concluded it he called the people to make a decision. In Acts 2:38ff Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” That is great news. We can have God living in us, know Him intimately through the Spirit that Jesus called “the Spirit of truth.” In order to do that, we have to obey the commands of Jesus, make Him our Lord. That, my friends, is the beginning of true wisdom.
2. Know God’s Word.
I don’t think I can over-emphasize this point. Paul says that the Word of God is “the sword of the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit will guide you through the toughest of situations. He will comfort you when you are hurting and strengthen you when you are weak. But you have to realize that His most effective tool in doing those things is the Word of God. There is simply no way to get around it, the more you know of God’s Word, the more wisdom you will have and the more God will work in and through your life. The less you know of God’s Word, the more you have limited the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.
That is why it is so important for you to read the Bible and be a part of a group of people who study it together. You limit the work God will do in and through you when you don’t allow the Holy Spirit to guide you through the Word. The Psalmist prayed “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Knowing the Bible helps us to know the mind of God. We learn through these pages who God is, and what His design for our lives is. If you want to be wise, you need to be plugged into God’s pipeline of wisdom, His Word. That is more than just hearing what I have to say. Know if for yourself. Read it, study it (with a good study Bible), let it fill your thoughts as you pray. Pick up a Psalm and make it your prayer (a good one to start with this week is Psalm 119).
3. Listen to the Godly people around you.
Sometimes even when you have the Holy Spirit as a part of your life, and even when you know the Word of God backward and forward there will be times when you will struggle to know what the right thing to do is. When that happens, you need the advice of others who have allowed the Spirit of God to fill their life. Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” When you seek out someone to advise you, find someone who shows that the Fruit of the Spirit is part of their life. God created us to live in community because sometimes we have blind-spots. Others can help to give us perspective on those blind spots we have.
There are very few people who would deliberately choose ignorance over wisdom. Oh, I’m sure there are some who believe the old adage “ignorance is bliss,” but I don’t think there are many of those people here this morning. They are still asleep or out on the lake somewhere. But if you have come here this morning looking for something to make your life complete, to make you wise in getting through this life and into the next one, then there is only one place to point you. Look to God for everything you need.
Our God is a good God who wants to give to us. He is loving and compassionate, and His will is to guide us through this life in such a way that we can live forever with Him in heaven. He wanted that so much that He sent His Son to remove the barrier of sin that separated us from Him. Jesus died on that cruel instrument of death we call a cross so that we could have life, abundant life here on earth, and eternal life in heaven.
The good news is that those who are wise enough to admit that they need His help will always find it.
