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Pray first

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:10:00 UTC +0100

‘Dear Lord, fill me with your wisdom and guide my thoughts and actions.’

James 3:13–18

‘Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.’

James 3:13–18

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:09:00 UTC +0100

Two Kinds of Wisdom

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Main point

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:08:00 UTC +0100

There are two sources of wisdom: heavenly and earthly (v 15). The contrast between them is marked. Earthly wisdom, which focuses on our own interests and needs, leads to ‘envy’, ‘selfish ambition’, ‘disorder’ and ‘evil practice’ (vs 14,16).

It is not a nice list, but it is the reality of everyday life for many people. Earthly wisdom is therefore by definition ‘unspiritual’ (v 15) and foolish.

Heavenly wisdom
In contrast, heavenly wisdom is arrived at by humility and dependence on God. Its qualities are expressed as ‘peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere’ (v 17).

Consequences
It is important to distinguish between cause and effect. The qualities we have listed are the effect of wisdom. But we gain wisdom by humbly surrendering ourselves to Jesus as Lord, for it comes out of our relationship with him and our heart attitude.

Fingerprints of heaven…
Earlier in his letter, James has already said that if we lack wisdom, we need only to ask God, who is its source, and he will give generously (see 1:5). The book of James is one of the most practical books of the New Testament, showing that true wisdom equips us for down-to-earth, practical living, which leaves the fingerprints of heaven behind us.

Charles Price (adapted from Daily Bread JS09)

Fruit-bearing wisdom

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:07:00 UTC +0100

The attributes of heavenly wisdom distinguish it from earthly wisdom, which is wrongly motivated and results in wrong effects. Human wisdom is not right or wrong in itself, but rather it must be motivated by concern for God and his kingdom, and not human goals alone.

Heavenly wisdom is:

● Pure – like God himself, with no imperfection, evil thoughts or motives, but with integrity and truth

● Peace-loving – wisdom that brings reconciliation and restoration of relationships, not using its power of understanding to alienate or increase conflict for personal or political gain

● Considerate – gentle, forbearing and sensitive in its understanding and application of truth

● Submissive – true wisdom comes with humility that is willing to work with and under others

● Full of mercy – not giving others what they deserve, but seeing everyone in a positive light, and forgiving faults

● Full of good fruit – the products of wisdom are good character and good relationships, not knowledge for its own sake or without benefit to others

● Impartial – without justice and fairness wisdom is a distorting tool to enhance power and oppress the weak

● Sincere – integrity, inner truth and genuineness in our inner being must be the foundation for our thoughts and actions

How do these attitudes apply in peacemaking today?
Take some time to reflect on passages that speak of the peacemaking role of wisdom:

Luke 10:25–37 – How should we relate to our enemies?

Romans 12:17–21 – How can we individually and as nations respond to evil with good?

Matthew 5:38–45 – How can we live out such challenging teaching?

Richard Harvey

Series overview: a word to the wise

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:06:00 UTC +0100

Welcome to ‘A word to the wise’.

This week we will be reacquainting ourselves with wisdom as we delve into the opening chapters of Proverbs. At the weekend we pick up a little more about wisdom in James’ letter to the church, before finishing with Psalm 19.

Our contributors to WordLive this week include:

David Bass has been making videos and writing short films for the past decade, since the age of 11. His work has been seen by over 5 million people on youtube in the past couple of years and is glad at opportunities where he can mix his talents with spreading the word of God.

Jon Birch is a freelance animator, designer, illustrator and music producer. He describes himself as ‘someone who makes a living out of what he used to do in the margins of his school books’. Jon is a co-founder and contributor of proost.co.uk, a site dedicated to providing creative resources for the Church.

Cornerhouse Productions are made up of husband and wife team, Andy and Wendy Green, who take our podcasts from words on a page to what they end up as, including writing the music that goes behind them. They live in Manchester with their four children and attend Bury Christian Fellowship where they lead worship. As well as working on independent projects they also produce a large and diverse range of albums for clients such as Kingsway, Authentic and others around the world.

Richard Harvey is Academic Dean and Director of Training at All Nations Christian College in Hertfordshire. He has written and spoken frequently on issues of Judaism and Christianity, and was a founder member of the London Messianic Congregation. He also served for seven years as the UK Director of Jews for Jesus. He is married to Monica and they have two children.

Nigel Hopper is Lecturer in Contemporary Culture and Communications Manager at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. Prior to this he spent five years as an Editor in Scripture Union’s Publishing Department and before that, five years as minister of a Baptist church in Ipswich. He has also worked for Royal Mail and WH Smith. He lives in Milton Keynes with his wife and two children and will take issue with anyone who suggests that Basil Rathbone made a better Sherlock Holmes than Jeremy Brett!

Mary Moody is a full-time mum, part-time writer and minister of a small rural Baptist church. Her first book, Target Challenge (published by SU), is a resource for after-school clubs based on the early life of King David.

Charles Price has been pastor of The People’s Church in Toronto since September 2001. He has preached in over 40 countries, and often visits the UK to speak at events such as Spring Harvest, the Keswick Convention and Easter People.

Small group programme

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:05:00 UTC +0100

Get started

Spend a few minutes thinking about someone you know whom you would describe as being wise. Then take it in turns to briefly share your thoughts with other members of the group, outlining why it is that you regard the person you’ve thought of as possessing wisdom.

Get God’s Word

Read Proverbs 1:1–19 together.

Get stuck in – questions for discussion

1) What might be the significance of the references to different groups of people (‘simple’, ‘young’, ‘wise’, ‘discerning’, ‘fools’) in verses 1–7?

2) What, in your view, is the relationship between wisdom and discipline (vs 2,7)?

3) What is the ‘fear of the Lord’ that is the beginning of knowledge (v 7)? How do we come by it?

4) What are the implications of verse 7 for our engagement with the so-called new atheists, who are often highly intelligent individuals? How would you distinguish knowledge from wisdom?

5) How is the author exhibiting wisdom in the scenario outlined in verses 10–19? To what extent does his conclusion (v 19) ring true with your experience of life?

6) How would you counter the argument that the author of Proverbs vastly overrates wisdom?

Get real (with God and with each other)

Identify situations group members are facing that require the exercise of wisdom. Pray specifically about each one, laying hands on the person concerned and asking that God give them the wisdom they need.

Nigel Hopper

Group discussion

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:04:00 UTC +0100

Want to talk about today’s passage? Share some thoughts about what you’ve read, seen or heard? Has it left you with further questions? Or do you disagree with what has been said?

Head to the WordLive forums to join the discussion online, or check out the small group programme.

A king's legacy: Jackson and Solomon

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:03:00 UTC +0100

Google crashed when Michael Jackson died.

The most successful recording artist of all time, a popstar whose Thriller album sold over 109 million copies (far and away the bestselling album ever – more than double its closest rival), a singer who pulled a greater audience for his Superbowl halftime show than the Superbowl itself, and a man whose death has rocked the world.

There are parallels between Jackson the king of pop and Solomon the king of wisdom. Both knew the luxuries of excess. Both had experienced money and fame and both of them found it ultimately empty.

Solomon’s story is found in the books of 1 Kings and Ecclesiastes. Jackson’s story is writ large in the media this week. Jackson’s legacy to the next generation is his songs. Solomon’s legacy to the next generation is his proverbs.

Had Jackson’s father passed on godly advice instead of abuse to his son, the story may have read differently. The first few chapters of Proverbs read as a father passing on wisdom to a son.

Solomon’s words could have been lyrics to a song that train us as listeners to see the world differently, to value God’s wisdom more than gold, to resist immediate gratification for the path of godliness, to not rely on purely human reasoning but to trust our path in life to God.

It is by adopting these principles that we preserve down through the generations the Christian way to handle the same challenges of self-identity, financial mishandling, integrity, lostness, and longing for intimacy that Michael Jackson is finally and fatally free from.

Krish Kandiah
http://krishk.wordpress.com