Have you ever prayed for wisdom? There are many areas of life that require wisdom. You need wisdom in raising your children, making business decisions, knowing what direction to take in life, or who to marry. You need wisdom for many every day decisions, as well as life’s major, destiny altering decisions. The Book of Proverbs is full of wisdom, and one of it’s major pieces of advice is GET WISDOM! Obviously God thinks it is important for us to have the kind of wisdom that He desires to give us.

There are two different kinds of wisdom that the Bible talks ab0ut in James 3:13-18. There is earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. This passage is a great litmus test to see what type of wisdom you are operating in with some of the choices you are making or have yet to make. You can ask yourself a few questions from this passage. Let’s look at how The Message Bible renders it here:

^13-16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

^17-18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

The word of God is so simple and clear cut isn’t it? We usually only find ourselves confused when we are trying to twist God’s word to justify self-serving or self-preserving choices, but if you read this passage at face value, it will shed light on your situation.

MOTIVES

The longer you walk with God and learn His character, you will find that His kingdom is all about the heart. It’s not about pretense. It’s not about looks. It’s not about appearing spiritual or checking a box when you do the right thing. Having the right heart in your decision making is of the utmost importance. So let’s say you need wisdom in making a decision. Maybe you are facing a decision right now and you don’t know what to do. Put your heart to the test. If you look inside, one choice may be the fruit of a self-serving or self-preserving motive, while the other is the fruit of a selfless, merciful and loving motive that desires to bless and honor.

I know. It’s difficult to be honest with yourself sometimes. It’s difficult to do and say the right thing sometimes. It’s much easier to twist the truth a bit to make yourself appear wise than it is to actually just BE wise, but remember what Solomon advises in Proverbs: GET WISDOM. Don’t get earthly wisdom, get godly wisdom, real wisdom, the kind that is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings.

God knows where you are at. He knows what you are facing. He knows walking in His wisdom doesn’t always make sense, and it may require faith and trust. He’s also pretty smart. Smarter than we are! He is giving you wisdom through His people and through His word. When you look in your heart you’ll know the right thing to do. The only thing left after that is to act on that wisdom and leave the rest to God.

For more faith in having wisdom and understanding of God’s word check out our Confessions of Faith Series: Wisdom & Revelation