Day 26: The Wisdom

“The mouth of the righteous speaketh WISDOM, and his tongue talketh of judgment.” Psalm 37:30

When I chose the word wisdom from this verse for today’s devotional, so many verses on wisdom jumped right into my head! Did this happen to you also? If so, out of all of the verses which verse came to the forefront of your mind? Mine was James 3:17 “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.” Wow! That was a mouthful!

I would like for us to look a bit closer at this verse, but first, let us look at the definition of the word wisdom. Wisdom means the quality of having good knowledge, experience or judgment. Wisdom is also characterized by soundness. If we were to throw in some synonyms, we could include prudence, shrewdness, discernment, and insight.

In I Kings 3:12, God grants Solomon’s request for wisdom. Solomon could have asked anything of God, but he asked for wisdom. He could have asked for money, fame, or health but he asked for wisdom. Do you think that Solomon really    understood the depth of his request? Do you think that he realized that having wisdom from God was of far greater value than anything else that he could have asked for? I would like to think so! What about you?

You and I, my friend, need wisdom as well! We need to find ourselves in a place where all else pales besides the necessity of wisdom. We need wisdom in each and every aspect of our lives. Not just any wisdom will do though. No, we need “wisdom that is from above.” The wisdom that only God can give. The wisdom that is …

· Pure — not mixed with any other substance

· Peaceable — free from conflict

· Gentle — having or showing temperance (restraint); kind

· Easy to be intreated — not hard, or difficult, or painful when being implored or petitioned

· Full of mercy — compassion or forgiveness is shown when it is within one’s ability to do otherwise

· Full of good fruits — it produces quality results; results that are pleasing to God

· Without partiality — having no unfair bias

· Without hypocrisy — having no claim to practicing moral standards and beliefs which one’s behavior does not       conform

Again, wow! This! This is God’s wisdom! Man’s wisdom and judgment come nowhere near this. If we are wanting wisdom, as Solomon desired and asked for, we must also seek our wisdom from above! If we try to seek it any other place or try to speak it any other way, our mouths will reveal the truth. For when we speak wisdom, the true test is … is it “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of  mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy?”