{"id":6121,"date":"2015-02-11T03:02:38","date_gmt":"2015-02-11T03:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6121"},"modified":"2015-02-11T03:02:38","modified_gmt":"2015-02-11T03:02:38","slug":"james-313-the-gentleness-of-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6121","title":{"rendered":"James 3:13\u2014The gentleness of wisdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.<\/em> James 3:13<\/p>\n

Who among you is wise and understanding?<\/em><\/p>\n

The book of Proverbs admonishes you to cry out for discernment and to lift your voice for understanding, to seek for it as if you were searching for silver or hidden treasure (see Proverbs 2:3). The Bible is clear: This<\/em> is how you acquire wisdom. It doesn\u2019t come to you because of your wit, popularity, status, or looks. Wisdom comes when you seek for it fervently\u2014even loudly\u2014before God. When James asked, \u201cWho among you is wise and understanding?<\/em>\u201d he was writing to men and women who knew how to cry out for wisdom and understanding\u2014with an intensity bordering on desperation.<\/p>\n

So<\/em>, writes James, are you wise?<\/em> Are you understanding?<\/em> There\u2019s only one way to prove it.<\/p>\n

Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.<\/em><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t prove your wisdom by your knowledge of the Bible. The devil has used his own twisted Bible knowledge to control and corrupt men for generations. Nor do you prove your understanding by all the great things you say. James 3:5 reveals that anyone\u2019s tongue can boast of grandiose feats.<\/p>\n

You reveal wisdom and understanding by your actions<\/em>\u2014by your good behavior and deeds done in the gentleness of wisdom.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Good behavior<\/span>. Your behavior is how you carry yourself in general<\/em>, as opposed to the specific tasks you do. You reveal whether or not you have wisdom by your general good conduct and behavior as you live life. Does your behavior and manner of life show forth wisdom and understanding?<\/li>\n
  2. Deeds<\/span>. Your deeds are your works. They are the more specific<\/em> tasks that you do as you live your life.<\/li>\n
  3. In the gentleness of wisdom<\/span>. How are you carrying out the deeds that you do? If they are done with wisdom and understanding, then they will be done in gentleness, in meekness, and with humility. The Amplified Bible is very clear. It states that deeds\u00a0conducted in\u00a0wisdom and understanding will be done \u201cwith the [unobtrusive] humility [which is the proper attribute] of true wisdom.<\/em>\u201d Are your deeds done unobtrusively, with gentleness and meekness? If so, then you demonstrate wisdom and understanding.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    James wrote in the first chapter of his letter, \u201cIf anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man\u2019s religion is worthless<\/em>\u201d (James 1:26). And he had just written concerning Christian speech: Fig trees do not produce olives. Vines do not produce figs. Salt water doesn\u2019t produce fresh water <\/em>(see James 3:11-12). <\/em>In other words, be consistent!<\/em> If you bless God, let all<\/em> of your words be gracious. And, if you\u2019re going to speak<\/em> well, then live <\/em>well. Let your words be consistent, backed up by good behavior and deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.<\/p>\n

    James couldn\u2019t be clearer\u2014words count, and they must be backed up by action.<\/p>\n

    May God grant us the daily grace to show forth His wisdom and understanding by our good behavior and deeds done in the gentleness of wisdom.<\/p>\n

    Dorothy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. James 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? The book of Proverbs admonishes you to cry out for discernment and to lift your voice for understanding, to seek for it as if you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6121"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6123,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6121\/revisions\/6123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}