WISDOM FOR THE WINNING LIFE (4)

“But the WISDOM that is from above is FIRST PURE…” – James 3:17a

WISDOM for the WINNING LIFE is rooted in the Fear of God and in PURITY: “But the WISDOM that is FROM ABOVE is FIRST PURE, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy (Jam.3:17). Purity is the primary requirement to register for the Principal Course called Wisdom! We need to walk in purity to safeguard the sanctity of a sound mind. James in this passage presents Qualities of God’s Wisdom, chief of which is the PURITY of WISDOM. James had begun his letter with a wisdom-related promise: “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (Jam.1:5 New Living Translation). If we’re ready to say, “Lord, I’ve made a mess of things; help me out,” God is ready and willing to help.

Wisdom for the Winning Life is PURE – free from error or stain! God is pure, and so is everything that comes from Him. Purity comes first on the list because without it, nothing else matters: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt. 5:8). Pure hearts will see God; hearts that are cluttered with wrong attitudes will see everything else but God. Purity, based on the Fear of God is where wisdom begins. God’s Wisdom will expose and expel accumulated grime and dirt in the soul; hidden layers of negativities such as anger, bitterness, doubt, despair, envy, frustration, malice, and other vile emotions that discolour the soul like a spiritual jaundice.

Sin is a sinker and destroyer of destinies; a stinker and poison to the soul. Wisdom demands that we let go of SIN. Whoever mocks at sin will end up in mockery: “Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour (Pro. 14:9). The Word of God makes us wiser than our enemies, including Sin, Satan, demons, sicknesses, poverty, failure, and frustration. Being wiser enables us to overcome them. The enemy tries to corrupt us with iniquity so we wouldn’t get wiser than him, and so that he can keep opposing us! Let’s choose Purity!

Purity distinguished Daniel by Wisdom in Babylon: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” (Dan.1:8). God vindicated this Passion for Purity with the Reward of Wisdom: “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm” (Dan.1:20).

Purity opens doors into Instructions of Wisdom that lead to Distinction on the earth. In addition to being Pure, the Wisdom from Above is:

Peaceable or peace-loving: Wise persons are peacemakers, not peacebreakers. They prefer to talk than fight, listen than yell, find a middle ground or give an inch rather than insist on being right or claiming “it’s my way,” like the earthly and devilish (vv.14-16).

Gentle: considerate, non-combative, not quarrelsome, not easily annoyed. We can be gentle because Jesus has been gentle with us despite our shortcomings and vices (Psa.103:10).

Merciful: full of mercy and good fruits. Mercy goes beyond feelings. Mercy sees needs and meets them. Mercy surpasses sympathy. We live in an unmerciful world where vengeance is the watchword. The Wisdom of Mercy does to others as God has done to us.

Impartial: without double standards, free from prejudice and favoritism. God’s Wisdom is a consistently impartial umpire. It tells and sides with truth all the time – in public and in private.

Sincere: without hypocrisy, guile, or pretence . What you see is what you get!

Finally, this Wisdom for the Winning Life will yield the bountiful “fruit of righteousness” (v.18).