Wisdom

             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.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. (James 1:5-8)

             For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians  1:18)

          One blessing on which we are told we can count is wisdom. But when we ask for that blessing, James tells us that we must believe and not doubt. The question is, why would we doubt? The first answer is that we are likely to doubt because we are weak humans. But the answer Paul gives us takes us a little further.

          The second problem is that it’s not instantaneous. God teaches us wisdom by letting us fail repeatedly over years..

          Not only do we doubt because we’re weak and it’s not instantaneous but we doubt because the answer – the wisdom – we are given is likely to run counter to what makes sense. Consider, for example, how to respond to someone who has hated you and done you harm. Every bit of logic in the world screams for you to protect yourself and to not only stop that person from harming you further, but to punish the person. Justice demands it! But God’s wisdom is to love that person. That may mean removing yourself from them so they can’t continue to cause harm, but it also means forgiving that person.

          Or the wisdom of gentleness and patience. It’s so much easier to use force and insist on an immediate response. Parts of our society love the notion of requiring people to do things now, and some might be good things, but Scripture teaches us to be gentle and patient in dealing with others. But the reality is that the person compelled to behave in some manner isn’t likely to ever agree with it, but a person gently and patiently convinced won’t need to be watched.

          And how often do we get an idea about which we say, “That’s just crazy!” I don’t know how many times I’ve said, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, oh OK.” And the thing to which I seem to end up saying, “OK” often isn’t cheap, isn’t easy, isn’t quick, and doesn’t result in people being impressed with my wisdom.