13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 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. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
In 1 Kings 3, when Solomon had first become king, God told him, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." If you've been around church much, you know that Solomon asked for wisdom. I can remember as a middle-schooler thinking, Well that was dumb. You can have whatever you want, Mr. Solomon, and you asked for wisdom?! Of course, at 13, the only thing I wanted was a boyfriend and some new clothes, so maybe I should have followed in Solomon's steps. But as I get older, I realize the true worth in wisdom. Wisdom would play out in all of my friendships, my job, my marriage, my ministry...everything! Truly, I cannot think of something I would rather have.
But this gets messed up in our culture today, doesn't it? A dear friend of mine wanted to be wealthy so badly, but he wanted to do it the "right way" and with God's blessing, so he looked up all the verses in the Bible that he could on money -- anything that would support his cause. There aren't many that say, "yes, go make yourself rich." But I can remember there was one verse where Solomon talked about money making life "easier", and so he held to that. Yet, he was missing every other verse in the Bible! But as verse 16 says, he was still striving out of selfish ambition, and he was not content in the slightest. "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice" (vs. 16). Surely, the "wisdom" that this world has to offer is not really wisdom at all. Luckily, my friend discovered this while working with his very wealthy boss who wanted to do everything "under the table" and...illegally. He told me later, "I went to go learn what to do to be successful in business from this man who had 'made it', and yet, I went away having learned everything I will choose not to do in business." And who, do you think, is the happier, more contented person...?
It's not that money is bad. Solomon had wisdom and astounding amounts of money (read 1 Kings 10), but the Lord is so much more concerned with our hearts. When will I ever grasp this? Verses 17 and 18 tell us, "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." It starts with the word 'but', so what does that tell us? To look for a contrast. The contrast that I see in this list of characteristics of wisdom verses the envy and selfish ambition is related to the person's character. True wisdom can be found in our character -- not in what we have made of ourselves! Actions speak louder than words. Boasting that you are wise, certainly isn't wisdom. But wisdom can be seen in your character.
Purity. Meaning it comes from God, not from the world.
Peace-loving. Let us not be people who stir up trouble, but seek to get along with others.
Considerate. Kind, patient, concerned for others.
Submissive. Selfless leadership. Putting others above yourself.
Full of mercy. You don't make people pay for every little way they "wrong" you because you are aware of your own failings.
Full of good fruit. The fruit of the spirit for sure, but also fruit in your relationships with others.
Impartial. No favoritism toward particular people or whole people groups.
Sincere. All of this listed about if real, not a show for other people. It comes from your heart, even when no one is looking.
No there's wisdom. Wouldn't you like to work for a boss like that?
But the neatest thing I learned in all of this this morning was when I read about Solomon asking for wisdom. This was Solomon's answer to God when He asked him what he wanted. What strikes you as you read this? “Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
To me, I see his response soaked in humility. He knows from where True Wisdom comes, and he knows that he is asking The Source if wisdom. Solomon recognizes God's faithfulness to his father, David; then he recognizes the fact that he knows he is young and not-wise by nature. Finally, he doesn't use the word wisdom, but he asks for a discerning HEART.
That, my friends, is what we need to be asking God for. We need Him to change our hearts. Then, the list of character traits above will follow. Ask Him to do it in you starting today. He would love nothing more.
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