A checklist to see if I am wise or foolish!

A transforming faith that saves, provides wisdom!  (2)

A checklist to see if I am wise or foolish!

The beginning of wisdom is studying God’s Word and spending time in prayer, seeking to understand God’s will for your life and for the world.

But James tells us that “wisdom” is not wise if it does not come to fruition in our daily lives. James writes, "Let the person who is wise show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from God” (James 3:13). And how does one know if you are wise?  James tells us that we show wisdom by being peace loving, reasonable, merciful, impartial, and sincere (James 3:17). Here, as with all good gifts, others are the beneficiaries.

James provides a checklist that we can consider to establish whether we have – or do not have – wisdom.  Are we wise or foolish?

* First of all - is it pure? Are we bending or breaking rules to achieve our objective?

* Is it peace loving? Will it bring people closer together or divide them?

* Is it considerate?  We have to make sure that we do not walk over the quiet, the sensitive, and the vulnerable.

* Is it submissive? We can take ourselves too seriously. Are we throwing our weight around? Is our "wisdom" an act of defiance?

* Is it full of mercy and good fruit? We should not just be fair, but kind. We should not only be just, but bear good fruit!

* Is it impartial? Have we looked at the situation from all sides?  Particularly in the context of conflict.

* Is it sincere? If my solution requires me to withhold information or pretend to be someone that I am not, I need to be deeply suspicious of my "wisdom."

Finally, James reminds us that it is easy to be a peace-lover, but it is very hard work to be a peacemaker. Our wisdom, to be real wisdom, must come from a clear commitment to unity.

When next you face a problem and have to come up with a solution, try using this checklist.  If there is a “no” somewhere – you have to re-examine your” wisdom”!