James - Wisdom
James - Wisdom
Today, in multiple different readings, the thought and concept of wisdom and maturity came up. Today, reading James 1, the following verse from where I stopped yesterday is:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” - James 1:5 NIV
This is a bold statement and a significant claim from James. Before I dive into this, let me highlight the other passage I was reading that brought wisdom and maturity to mind; it was an encounter with Jesus.
“but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” - John 8:1-11 NIV
This is one of my absolute favorite stories and encounters with Jesus. First, I am always intrigued to know what Jesus wrote. This has been an endless source of speculation for teachers, preachers, and commentators.
· Some think that Jesus simply doodled in the dirt. The verb translated wrote could also mean, “to draw.” (Morris)
· Some think Jesus simply stalled for time.
· Some think that Jesus wrote the passage in the law that condemned the adulterous woman.
· Some think Jesus wrote out a passage like Exodus 23:1: Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
· Some think that Jesus wrote the names of the accusers.
· Some think that Jesus the sins of the accusers.
· Some think that Jesus followed Roman judicial practice and wrote out His sentence before He said it.
But, what about wisdom and maturity? John tells us that those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left. We do not know why the older ones left first, but when I read this, I always imagine it had to do with wisdom and maturity. With age, frequently, our life experience and experience with God brings us wisdom and maturity. Thus, the older ones resonated and understood Jesus quicker and humbled themselves first before the younger did. We are not sure this is what happened, but it’s how I always interpret this interaction.
Back to James, and the verse that took me down this rabbit trail. Let’s reread it in the TPT version.
“And if anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom, and he will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures but he will overwhelm your failures with his generous grace.” - James (Jacob) 1:5 TPT
A few key reasons I fall short sometimes in the category and I know others do as well is highlighted here, in this version. He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures. Often the lack of asking has more to do with how we want to be seen. We can often live our lives in a way that wants to project we have it all together, so we do not want to humble ourselves before God, or for that matter anyone else as asking for help. This also struck me in the passage in John, and we see Jesus “bent down,” this is also a sign of humility. Yes, he was drawing in the sand, but bending down and how that was written shows a sign of Jesus humility before others.
Is your lack of humility causing you to lack wisdom? Pride, ego, and arrogance all contribute to a massive limiter in our ability to grow in wisdom and maturity in Christ. Godly wisdom is described and highlighted all through the book of Proverbs. Let us take in these few verses, and let it focus us on being humble today, and seeking God for His wisdom.
Wisdom says:
“I love those who love me and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full.” - Proverbs 8:17-21 NIV