Week 7 Day 3 Devotions
The Wisdom from Above
“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
James 3:17
Feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty a drink, clothing the naked, welcoming strangers visiting the sick and the prisoner; all of these are not only the right thing to do, they are also the wise thing to do. Think of the nation in which you live: how would things change if there were no poverty, in other words no hunger, thirst or nakedness? Perhaps even apply these thoughts on a smaller scale: how would the absence of poverty change things in your city or even in your church? Are strangers, aliens or foreigners a “problem” in your nation, city or church? There is certainly not a nation on the planet that does not have a problem with illness. Think of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, Alzheimer's disease and so on. As for prison populations, most nations struggle to develop a prison system that eventually sets free rehabilitated convicts with no desire to return to a life of crime.
The Scriptural injunctions (that is a more gentle word than command but it means the same thing) to feed, give, clothe, welcome and visit are wise things to do with your time. The wisdom that comes from the world says: “Don't do these things because what difference can you make anyway?” But when you choose to feed, give, clothe, welcome and visit the least among you, you are choosing to bring kingdom wisdom to bear on worldly problems and there is no better wisdom than that. It might not make sense to the world around you, or to your friends nor sometimes even to the people you love and whose support you long for, but this wisdom from above which begins with the purity of your intentions and your desire to get along with those whom you reach out to and leads to an overflow of your impartial and sincere good works is the kind of wisdom which can begin to change our world for the better.
It starts in that place where God has placed you today.
Ye simple souls that stray
Far from the path of peace
(That lonely, unfrequented way
To life and happiness),
Why will ye folly love,
And throng the downward road,
And hate the wisdom from above,
And mock the sons of God? (21)
