Walking in Wisdom
Augustine of Hippo is famously quoted as saying to God, "You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they can find rest in you."
We have to consider this: If God really is our Creator, and the Bible really is His inspired word, God's words and instructions for us are life. He is our Maker and he knows how we are made. Therefore, when we are reading the Bible, we are looking into the truth about ourselves. We are grasping onto the truth of how we are wired to operate, which means we can be learning true wisdom.
Let's think about wisdom in a few contexts from the Scriptures, and we can weigh for ourselves the authority we think they deserve.
A Pure Heart: Wisdom in Conduct
From the New Testament
James 3:13–18
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James seems to be putting forward a polarizing understanding of wisdom. The one who is understanding will demonstrate that wisdom by meekness and good conduct. The wise man will be humble and gentle.
James argues that harboring bitter jealousy and selfish ambition often looks like boasting and falsehood. Jealousy is borne out of comparison and a feeling of lack. Selfish ambition is centered in boasting and a desire for vainglory.
What is the wisdom from above? Maybe we should ask, "Who is the wise person, walking in wisdom from above?" James writes that the person who is wise will be pure in their conduct. They will be a peaceable person, they will be gentle, open to reason merciful and good-hearted, operating with impartiality in love and sincerity in pursuit of others.
In contrast, the bitter and jealous and self-seeking person walks in an earthly, unspiritual, demonic wisdom. They walk in the ways of the world.
Think about who you would esteem as an authority figure. Who is someone you would consider to be wise? Are they bitter or gentle? Envious of others or gracious in spirit?
James argues that the wise person will be a peacemaker, sowing a harvest of righteousness. This echoes of Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9).
Truly wise people look like peacemakers, who live in gentleness and impartiality towards others, free from bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, living as children of God and resembling his pure and peaceable ways.
Tempered Wisdom: Living in Light of Eternity
From the Old Testament
Psalm 90:10–12
The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
The Old Testament continuously gives us a picture of the bigness of the Eternal God. Psalm 90 considers the God who is from 'everlasting to everlasting.'
This Psalm prays to God, "Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."
This section from Psalm 90 shows us that we must remember our brevity and our eternity. It is freeing and sobering and honest to admit that we are contingent beings who will one day face their Maker and give an account.
Our years are soon gone and we fly away, but we will live with the eternal consequences of our actions today. This leads us to number our days, seek a heart of wisdom, and try to build lives upon the coming reality of the eternal day.
The Source of Wisdom: Wisdom from Above
Christ to Us
1 Corinthians 1:30–31
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
We've looked at the peaceable person of wisdom and we've seen that we have to embrace the brevity and eternality of our lives. However, we can't just become peaceful and not self-seeking people. And we certainly can't stand upon our own works in the face of our Maker when we are to give him an account.
This is where we tap into the words of Jesus again, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). God's children will resemble God himself, and God is a peacemaker.
Because of God, those who believe are in Christ Jesus. In light of eternity, God is offended by our sin. He is the Judge, and he must punish sin. However, God makes a way for reconciliation. God makes peace with sinners through Jesus Christ by punishing sins in Christ on the cross.
Because of God, all who believe are in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus, God in flesh, has become to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. The cross of Jesus Christ is the pathway of reconciliation and the gateway to true wisdom.
This is why James warns against boasting. If we are to stand before a holy God, we need Jesus as our peacemaker, as our bridge to the presence of God, as our mediator. We must become those who humble ourselves like little children, willing to accept God's love in Christ alone for the forgiveness of our sins and the fulfillment of all his promises.
A radical shift takes place. Faith in Christ changes us at the core level. We begin to walk in the ways of 'wisdom from above' because Christ has become wisdom from God for us. We go from a life of self-trust to a life of Christ-dependence through faith. We can work with impartiality and sincerity towards an eternal reward, because Christ has secured it for us through his life, death, and resurrection.
We can be peacemakers who resemble God because we have been reconciled to God. It is the sacrifice of Christ for our sin that actually addresses the heart issue at hand. We go from enemies of God to sons and daughters of God. We are reconciled to be reconcilers. We love our enemies, we are gentle in disagreement, we are merciful because we have received mercy. We flee from bitter jealousy and selfish ambition because Christ has freed us from self-dependent boasting.
Oh, what freedom is in the gospel! We don't need others to deem us as impressive. We don't need our accomplishments to define us. We don't need our failures to define us. We are in Christ. Our boast is that Christ is for us, as the Apostle Paul so freely proclaimed, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me; the life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
We can be peaceable and unafraid of our brevity and eternality because Christ has taken our place and freed us from sin and death. We can be peaceable and unafraid because Christ has become for us true wisdom from above.
Do you trust Christ? Do you have this freedom? How will you account for yourself to God? What do you boast in? Are you defined by being peaceable and not bitter or selfish?
The Reshaped Life of Wisdom: God Trust (Not Self Trust)
The Paradigm Shift
Proverbs 3:5–8
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
In the hyper-individualistic culture we live in, self-trust is often applauded. We seek to be self-made, autonomous men and women who let nothing stand in their path. We hate failure and weakness. We are defined by self-trust. Is it possible that this lets us down? What happens when we do fall short? How much depression and shame comes upon us when we realize that we don't measure up? What happens when we can't grab ahold of all our dreams - when life throws us a curveball or we come up short?
Because Christ becomes for us wisdom from God, we can be set free from the life of self-trust. Faith becomes our way of life. Christ is all for us, so our trust isn't in ourselves but in him, and he is secure. Christ didn't fall short. Christ measures up. Christ is enough. We aren't.
We can live in freedom, restored in relationship to our Creator. We can seek with his help to walk in his ways. We can gain a heart of wisdom and number our days. This looks like trusting God with all our heart, because he is trustworthy. He has proven it in Christ. We can acknowledge God and call upon him for guidance. This gives us wisdom from above, not wisdom in our own eyes -- which is helpful because we don't know everything.
This allows us to turn from evil and towards a harvest of righteousness. This brings about healing and refreshment to our lives.
The Bible argues that true wisdom comes not from self-trust but from trusting God. The Bible argues that true wisdom comes from Christ coming into the world, not the world. The Bible argues that God has the authority and claim upon our lives, and that he knows and defines wisdom.
We have to ask ourselves, do we esteem God's wisdom or our own? Do we give God the authority in our lives or do we want to be our own 'Sovereign selves?' What are we banking on?
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