Wisdom from Above

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.

We all desire wisdom from above, we strive to live in such a way that our actions reflect the Creator that gifts us this wisdom. We read His Word, read other literature, grow in church, pray for others, worship in actions and most importantly raise our kids to see and know how to gain wisdom from above. Life revolves
around seeking wisdom from above.

We see his wisdom in how our bodies work. Wisdom in how He intricately planned our paths. Wisdom that continues to be far greater than anything we could ever imagine.

I have one birthday present that sticks out in my memory above all of the rest. A dishwasher has made life so convenient. Last year for the first time in our marriage, my wife and I had a dishwasher. No longer was there a daily question as to who’s turn was it, but we had this all-powerful machine to do it for us. I am
saddened to say, this machine did not fix all my problems. For myself, it has created a sort of apathy regarding dishes. The feeling that something else should be fixing the problem of my daily dirty dishes. We all desire a clean kitchen, but it doesn’t happen without being mindful of where you are setting your dirty
dishes.

Life revolves around seeking wisdom from above. How often is that not the case, the messy dishes creeps in to daily made decisions. I always do not realize how selfish putting a dirty dish in the sink is instead of rinsing it off and putting it in the dishwasher, but when the end goal is a clean kitchen even small amounts
of selfish ambition lead to disorder.

Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit
will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Partnering in Christ,
Matthew Swank
Dean of Elementary
Students