Triple C News - Nov. 4
Hey everyone!
Wow! What an awesome day! What a day to praise God’s goodness to us all!
Sunshine, warmin’ up, big game on the way!
What a day to have joy in our heart! ‘Cept that…
Lots a people are super upset!…
Seems like all over our country folks everywhere REALLLLY disagree ‘bout lots of things!
Especially over who should vote for who (Wait. Is it “whom”?) and why. (Or is it “whym?”)
I’m not sure what all the fuss is about!
It’s really simple!
Let me tell y’all whom (It is! I looked it up!) you might wanna think about voting for…
(Just kidding! Goodness knows, I’m not gonna actually make any suggestions!!)
But I think I know what kind of person you should pull for in ANY situation!
It’s easy!
I believe that what we need now more than ever are folks who are wise!
It’s a complicated world out there and the wisdom to navigate complexities and bring everyone together is rare, scarce, and essential!
“Wisdom” in the Scriptures isn’t insight into esoteric mysteries but just knowing how to talk, be, act, and react, day by day in this world we’re in.
And as far as wisdom goes, there are two kinds to choose from.
According to the Epistle of James chapter 3, verses 13 thru 18, there is a “wisdom that comes from Heaven” and a wisdom from…
well…
somewhere else, I guess.
“How do you tell the difference?”
That’s easy!
The “wisdom” that doesn’t come from Heaven, but comes from…elsewhere…
expresses itself in…
“bitter envy” (verse 14)…
(the Greek words are “zelon pikron”)…
and “bitter envy” means “zeal or passion that is hurtful and bitter and leaves a bitter taste…”
(Ever heard/seen any of that??)
And that wisdom is also full of “selfish ambition” (verse 14)
The Greek word for “selfish ambition” is “erithea”…
According to scholars, it’s a word that means ”a pushing forward for personal ends… regardless of the discord it causes…contentious…a partisan spirit (“We’re right; all y’all are wrong!”)…factions…”
James tells us that when that’s the “wisdom” folks have…
sadly, you’re gonna find “disorder and every evil practice”! (verse 16)
Yikes!
That wouldn’t be good!
He actually says this kind of “wisdom” is “earthy, fleshly, and…”
(Well, maybe you better look it up! Check out James 3:15!)
So, that wisdom really isn’t wisdom at all. In fact, it’s the opposite!
“So, who do we look for, bud?”
Easy!!
Look for someone who is wise with “wisdom from above”! Heaven’s wisdom!!
“How will I know it when I see it?”
Once again…easy!!
It’s not necessarily someone who has graduate degrees in advanced calculus or Renaissance literature in the original languages.
Wisdom is a special kind of heart!
“Wisdom from above is first of all…pure!” (James 3:17)…
It means “clean and holy, inside and out!”
“First of all…”
It’s the FIRST thing you’re looking for!
Then, “peacable” (James 3:17)
“Huh?”
Well, “peacable” means someone who is peace-loving, peace-making…
Wherever they go, people who wouldn’t be, are getting along better than they did before! These folks work to help people understand each other better!
It’s a kind of “love-skill”.
Than, you need to make sure your choice is someone who is not only pure and peace-loving and peace-making, but is also…
“gentle”! (again, 3:17)
Wow! How ‘bout that?!
That word (the Greek word is “epieike”) means…
”kind, sweet, reasonable, meek, fair…”
Kind and meek in their words…
kind and meek in their posts…
kind and meek in their tweets…
kind and meek in their re-tweets.
What’s next on your qualification list of wisdom?
“Submissive” (verse 17)…This is soooo interesting and sooo rare!
It means ”easily persuadable!…
”I have my opinion but I’ll listen to you! You could talk me into seeing your side!”
It means “approachable, compliant, good at listening, not a ‘know-it-all’…”
Last of all, “merciful”…”full of mercy, caring and compassion” for the disfavored…
for the “least of these”.
(Sigh…)
Sure wish there were more wise people around!
How I wish we could all have our opinions…even firm opinions…
but with Jesus’s peace-ableness…
Jesus’s meekness…
Jesus’s gentleness…
Jesus’s sweetness…
Jesus’s approachableness…
Jesus’s mercifulness…
I don’t know if only those who know Jesus could be this way.
I DO know that all those who love Jesus SHOULD be this way.
Wisdom.
Let it start with those who love and follow the One Who is called
“the Wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:30)…
the Prince of Prince…
Jesus, the “meek and lowly of heart”.
And let US be they.
Let it begin with us!