Who is wise and understanding among you?  Some translations say who is wise and knowledgeable among you? James is asking a very interesting question. Is he asking who is both wise and knowledgeable or is he asking you to categorize people you know into the wise column or the knowledgeable column?  Do you have to be one or the other or can you be both?  Hmmm…maybe we see wise and knowledgeable as synonyms, maybe having wisdom and knowledge go hand in hand.

So far in his letter James has been trying to teach us how to live the Christian life- love your neighbor, watch your tongue, check your anger, do good things.  I think this section of the letter we read today begins to help us understand not just what to do, but how to do it.  It focuses not on the action itself, but on the intention.

When you look up the definition of wisdom here is what you get “the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment”.  So if that is true then wisdom helps you apply knowledge.  Wisdom helps you apply your experience.  Wisdom informs what you do with what you know.  Wisdom is the bridge or the path between knowing and doing as I see it. James tells us there are 2 kinds of wisdom which means there is more than 1 path and more than 1 bridge.  Depending on where our wisdom comes from will determine what we see on the other side.  I see it as an equation

KNOWLEDGE + WISDOM = ACTION/RESULT/OUTCOME/James says DEED.

Even with the same knowledge, the wisdom we apply can significantly change the result.  Same knowledge PLUS a different source of wisdom yields a different outcome.  Think about it…2 students in the same classroom.  Each learns the makeup and the composition of a chemical.  That chemical was used to kill and maim millions of people in World War 1.  But that same chemical, used in small and controlled doses can also treat cancer.

I cannot help but consider this idea: that knowledge can be insignificant if we are seeking the wrong wisdom. We can be super smart and yet what we do with that and how we apply it to our lives and beliefs, what wisdom we pursue, can result in a very different outcome. Do you know people like that?  Smart but continue to make bad decisions, knowledgeable, but confused?

And when I think of that truth, I cannot help but hear the story of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.  John Wesley was born of very devout parents, his father an Anglican priest and his mother convinced that her children, all of them, boys and girls would receive an education.  John Wesley was well educated with multiple degrees and he himself became an Anglican priest and served in the local church alongside his father and then later on his own.  He kept the traditions of the church, administered the sacraments and ordinances, he read scripture and preached a compelling sermon.  But, he also found himself searching for something else, something deeper.  He devoted himself to doing more scripture reading, more fasting, more praying, having more conversations with others in order to expand his knowledge of God.  He believed that these pious acts lead to holiness. He was called a fanatic and an enthusiast (not a compliment).  His “methods” were mocked, but John thought more discipline made for a better disciple.  He believed that the path to holiness was a result of his dedication to his routine. He was so convinced that his methods were effective that he accepted an invitation to travel from his native England to the colony of Georgia in America.  He was confident that he could convert the natives to Christ if they just did what he instructed them to do.  They could be holy if they practiced his methods.  He was wildly unsuccessful and combined with a dramatic relationship with Sophia Hopkey he was forced to return to England- dejected and feeling like a failure.  (The Sophia Hopkey story is very interesting- look it up!)  Wesley was questioning his abilities as a priest and his very own faith.  His pride was fatally bruised and he was sufficiently disappointed. Wesley had a rocky ship ride home and he reported in his journal that his anxiety over dying was very real.  He found himself fascinated by the German Moravians who were also on the ship.  Because of their faith, they were able to sing and worship in the height of the stormy ride. How was that even possible?

When he returned to England, still embarrassed, disappointed, depressed and questioning all he had ever learned, he sought out the Moravians he had met on the ship.  One night, May 24, 1738 to be exact, at one of their gatherings Wesley attended “unwillingly” they were reading and studying Luther’s preface to the book of Romans, Wesley had an unexpected experience.  His own words are: “while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

Wesley had the knowledge that James speaks of.  But he hadn’t connected his head to his heart. Wesley applied his own wisdom to his knowledge and the outcome was a feeling of failure and of despair.  But in that meeting that night on Aldersgate St, when Wesley had put his own wisdom aside, God’s wisdom was added to John Wesley’s knowledge and out of that came an authentic faith, an assurance of God’s love, a new found belief that Jesus didn’t just die, he died for ME, as he puts it. His faith was no longer just words and actions, it was dependent on and as a result of the grace of God.  The same knowledge with different wisdom equals a different result.  John Wesley moved from a faith of the head to a faith of the heart.  When he allowed the gift of God’s wisdom to enter his heart, when he allowed that wisdom to change his heart, his heart was strangely warmed.  His ministry was never the same again.

James describes 2 types of wisdom in this passage today.  He says the earthly wisdom is applied with an attitude of envy and selfish ambition and the result is disorder, confusion. In The Message translation we read things fall apart.

But wisdom from heaven- pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. When I reflect on these descriptors of wisdom that comes from God, it sounds so much like the Fruit of the Spirit to me.  Our key verse today reminds us that God’s work in us manifests itself as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  In fact that good fruit is listed in James’ description of God’s wisdom.  So when God’s wisdom is applied to our circumstances, to our situations, to our dilemmas, the outcome, the result, the fruit is all things good!

I am encouraged by this, are you?  But we should be asking the question, how do we rely on God’s wisdom?  How do we check ourselves to be sure we are not applying earthly wisdom to our situation? James already gave us that answer in the 5th verse of chapter 1- If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  Ask God for wisdom and God will give it to you.  WOW!  Now there is a gift!

Our lives can be complicated can’t they?  During this pandemic in particular we were faced with situations where we didn’t have the knowledge we needed. Do we wear masks, do we stay home, do we meet with friends and family?  Do we worship in person?  Do we have the Oyster Supper or the Rummage Sale?  Uggg!  I think we have been living this lesson of knowledge and wisdom for quite some time right here at Lima Church.  We continually gathered facts and the recommendations of others, we sought to understand the situation we were in.  And then with each decision we asked God for God’s wisdom to make the next right decision or to do the next right thing. I promise you that each decision was confronted with prayer first! If we used the earthly wisdom, which applied conflicting and ever changing dynamics, we would have found ourselves in chaos, in confusion, in doubting.  But we sought heavenly wisdom and we applied what God has continued to reveal- do no harm, do good, stay in love with God.  God gave us this mirror to hold up to each of the various dilemmas we face.  This mirror is God’s heavenly wisdom. Look what has happened- we returned to in person worship with safe guidelines, we continue a thriving online worship experience, the Oyster Supper is re-imagined, Bus Stop and Lima Christian Nursery School are serving our children, and we feel confident in the decision to postpone the Rummage Sale and other gatherings.  The fruit is plentiful my friends!

Wisdom- the application of knowledge.  God’s wisdom cultivates the fruit of peace and sincerity, authenticity and mercy, humility and kindness.  I pray we are bearers and recipients of this good fruit.  I pray we are open to the gift of wisdom God has for us so that we can experience the faithfulness of God in our own lives and Christian journeys, but also so that we can love and honor our neighbors with the fruits that wisdom reveals.

To God be the Glory.  Amen

 

 

 

 

 

Benediction:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  May your basket be overflowing with God’s exquisite gifts and you seek the wisdom from God about how to use them to continue to serve God and God’s people in love.  Go in peace!