True Wisdom

Meditations in the Season of Lent

March 17, 2023

True Wisdom

If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.

James 3:13

Read: James 3:13-18

They say great minds think alike. That was certainly true of Paul and James. I made a list of the attributes of Godly wisdom James identifies in verses 17-18. Then I compared it to Paul’s list of the attributes of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Because of this, I find it helpful to sometimes substitute the word love for wisdom. There are times when I am not sure how to respond to someone and I pray for wisdom. I believe knowing that God’s wisdom and love are interwoven helps me be more discerning of God’s leading.

As I read these verses, I remember hearing that when people are trained how to identify counterfeit currency, instead of learning about all the different ways the currency can be copied or altered, the student spends their time learning about the genuine currency. The student becomes so familiar with the genuine article they can easily identify a counterfeit.

Both Paul and James have identified things Christians are not supposed to do. But both Paul and James emphasize even more the characteristics of the life in Christ. Can it be that when we are completely immersed in Christ’ life we can easily identify the counterfeit life offered by the evil one?

My Takeaway: Counting calories is the best way to achieve an appropriate body weight. Just as we should have an awareness of what foods we are taking in, and their calories, it is also essential for us to be aware of the ways of the world (see v.15-16). How many calories of the world’s culture we are ingesting as compared to the Godly calories found in the means of grace? The Godly calories will lead us to be peacemakers who plant seeds of peace and who reap a harvest of righteousness. (v.18)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.