James 3:13-15

I had a hard time putting my finger on the focus of these verses, but what I'm led to understand is that this is talking about the difference between a selfish heart and a sincere one. A heart that wants to see the world with the eyes of Jesus vs. one that has an ulterior motive for oneself to be glorified, valued, and successful. Only Jesus can see these motives. He knows. People can applaud people for supposed "wisdom," but only God sees if someone is truly being wise, and even in our most shining moments (made possible by his Spirit), our hearts can never be perfectly wise or loving. This part of James reminds me that wisdom is thinking and doing as God would, with everyone else's needs at the forefront of his mind, not focusing on the self.

This got me thinking about how sometimes people do things that I think are strange, but they might be doing them because they want to serve God, and it just comes out differently than I think it would. Last night I read about Mary washing Jesus' feet. Though Judas thought this unwise, it was a beautiful act of love on Mary's part. It came from her heart, much like the heart of Rahab who hid the spies. Again I am reminded that love is not following a set of rules, but it comes from impulses of the heart.

It also made me remember that I need to be careful where I get my advice from, because there are people who might have their own agenda on their mind, and they might push me toward doing what they want me to do or what they would have me do. This might not be what God wants. His wisdom is the best. I pray that he would lead me to the source of that wisdom time and again, and that he'd give me his Spirit. I'm so thankful that he's in control, not me, because my plans are so close-minded, and he sees everything, knows everything, and plans for in advance for me and for you. His wisdom trumps our best thoughts and plans. I pray that our Father in heaven would help us to trust in him and that he'd give us wisdom--the kind that comes from him--unselfish love that sees the needs of others.