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Wisdom

             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. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:17-18)

 

I think I’ve defined these terms before, but it’s worth looking at them again, because I may have learned something.

Pure: not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material, without any extraneous and unnecessary elements, free of any contamination, wholesome and untainted by immorality, especially that of a sexual nature, (of a sound) perfectly in tune and with a clear tone, (of an animal or plant) of unmixed origin or descent.

Peace-loving: inclined to avoid conflict or aggression.

Considerate: careful not to cause inconvenience or hurt to others, (Archaic) showing careful thought.

Submissive: ready to conform to the authority or will of others; meekly obedient or passive.

(Full of) Mercy: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within

one's power to punish or harm.

(Full of) Good fruit: a change in our disposition, attitudes, affections, and actions[1] (Not a dictionary definition), generally involving our turning away from sin, and the positive results thereof.

Impartial: treating all rivals or disputants equally; fair and just.

Sincere: free from pretense or deceit; proceeding from genuine feelings.

The first thing that strikes me about most of the definitions is that they are explained more in terms of what they are not than what they are. Pure is not mixed, free of, untainted by, etc. Peace-loving means avoiding conflict or aggression, etc. I suspect that part of this is because we cannot imagine or picture what these things are, just what they are not as darkness isn’t something, it’s the absence of light. What then, is light? The absence of darkness?

Now, it’s confession time. One of my big prayer requests is wisdom. We all want wisdom. Isn’t the alternative to be a fool? In fact, wouldn’t many of us define “wise” as meaning “not foolish”? And what is a fool? Someone who is not wise. Oh dear.

Over the past year or two, I’ve been defining “wise” as “conforming to reality.” Such a definition would probably work for “sane” as well. How does it fit with the definitions above? If something conforms to reality, it isn’t mixed with unreality (or such is the goal) and therefore, it’s pure. If it conforms to reality, it’s not fighting against reality, so it’s peace-loving. It doesn’t seek to impose unreality on others, so it doesn’t seek to harm them. It’s considerate. It requires submission to that reality, which requires a change in disposition, attitude, etc., meaning it is full of good fruit (or can be.) It must be impartial, as reality is impartial and must be sincere. And it at least has the potential to be full of mercy. So as a definition, “conforming to reality” seems to work as a definition of wisdom.

But is that what we tend to mean by wisdom? More often than not, I tend to mean that I want to know the answers, be able to convince others, and be free of problems because I know how to handle them. I want to miraculously live in accordance with reality without the fuss of having to forsake all my foolish ways or to defeat them and retrain myself. If it’s not about my being in charge (at least of myself) then it is about my not being inconvenienced by the changes wisdom demands of me. Somehow I doubt that fits the words in today’s passage.

Lord, even in my seeking of wisdom, I hold onto folly. Do not teach me wisdom that glorifies me. Give me wisdom teaches me to live in accordance with Your laws and that glorifies Thee.


[1] www.compellingtruth.org/fruitful-Christian.html

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