James 3:17

NIV: 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.

The Message: Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced.

The wisdom that comes from heaven, from God, is:

1. Pure

The dictionary definition of pure is:

• adjective 1 not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material. 2 free of impurities. 3 innocent or morally good. 4 complete; nothing but: a shout of pure anger. 5 theoretical rather than practical: pure mathematics. 6 (of a sound) perfectly in tune and with a clear tone.

I love the way it says here that a pure sound is perfectly in tune and has a clear tone. Just imagine being so pure that it is as if you had just been washed clean by God, had all the impurities (the sin) removed and taken away, never to return, and were dressed in white robes of righteousness. You would be like a crystal clear bell, ringing out with such a pure sweet note, it would just make you want to cry!

That is the type of wisdom that James is talking about. The wisdom that is so pure, so sweet, so completely free of impurities, unaffected by preconceived ideas, bigotry, favouritism, a clear tone that is as if whatever you say is as pure and sweet and holy as if it had come straight from the mouth of God.

I don't know about you, but I know that there is no way anything I say is like that. You pick up so many ideas, idiosyncrasies, habits and so on in a lifetime, that what you are as a person comes out in the way you say things - the mannerisms, the language, your core beliefs. Yet can God change each one of us, make us more like Christ, make us pure within, so what we are is pure without also (does that make sense?).

2. Peace- loving

So what does the dictionary have to say about peace:

noun 1 freedom from disturbance; tranquillity. 2 freedom from or the ending of war. 3 (the peace) Christian Church an action such as a handshake, signifying unity, performed during the Eucharist.

Tranquillity. Even the word conjures up, for me, pictures of bright sunny days, water trickling in a stream, the sunlight reflecting through the leaves onto the water. So we are to love peace, and who wouldn't prefer peace to war, to fighting, arguing, backbiting? I know in our house, it is so much more peaceful and quiet when everyone gets on, when the children don't fight or throw a paddy, stomping up the stairs and slamming the doors behind them as they go.

But this is not just peace in a house, in a family, or a marriage, this is peace in a country, in the world, with no wars, no fighting, and also peace of mind, peace of heart, and that type of peace can only come from knowing God.

3. Considerate

adjective careful not to harm or inconvenience others

This is having a care for others, watching what you say and do so as not to hurt or harm others. It means taking into account their feelings, what they are going through. Sometimes, this isn't easy to do, you have a busy day at work, you get stressed out because there are deadlines to be met, jobs to do and so little time. Things go wrong, the internet won't work in my case - and this is soooo frustrating! I never realised just how much it was part of my life until we have connection problems these past two weeks…. You have worries, problems, cares and concerns and it is often easier to take out your stress and frustration on others than to keep it all bottled up inside and "be nice". Sometimes, you just don't want to play!

But the consideration that comes from God means having to put yourself last, consider others, how they are doing, watching out for them, helping them out. It does not, however, mean that you run yourself ragged doing everything for everyone else and never talking a moment for yourself.

4. Submissive

adjective meekly obedient or passive.

Being submissive does not mean becoming a doormat, agreeing with everyone, dong what everyone wants and expects, standing there and taking it, lying down and letting everyone walk all over you. As women, we are supposed, for instance, to be submissive to our husbands, but that does not mean standing there and letting him batter us about. I'm not a battered wife, by the way, but I know women who are, and they have just been so worn down by their husbands that they don't even want to leave the marriage because they think they are not worth anything better, or they don't know where to go, whom to turn to.

Submissive here means standing up for what is right, what is good, what is true, but it doesn't mean that you become a carpet and allow others to walk all over you.

5. Full of mercy and good fruit

noun lenience or forgiveness towards an enemy etc; pity.

Being full of mercy, to me, means that you look kindly on people, you give them a second chance and don't automatically assume that they actually mean the words they are saying. Sometimes, people say something without thinking about how it will sound and it comes out all wrong, effectively insulting or belittling the person they are talking to. Other times, they can do something and it really hurts the other person, a thoughtless action can cause all sorts of arguments.

Then good fruit. Well, this, to me, means the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Just imagine what sort of a place the world would be if we were all filled with the fruits of the Spirit?

6. Impartial

adjective not favouring one side over another; unbiased.

This is a case of not taking sides, of being uninfluenced by either side in an argument and sticking to what is true and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable (Philippians 4:8, NLT).

This is not always easy. I can think of numerous times when our youngest son has complained that his sister has done this to him, or an elder brother has done that to him, only for us to find out when we go to confront the errant sibling that they had been provoked unceasingly and only retaliated as a last resort to stop their brother hitting them (or whatever he was doing). I have certainly learned from that not to take at face value everything he says, and to check out exactly what was happening, what was said, and so on.

7. Sincere

adjective 1 honest in word and deed, meaning what you say or do, true; a sincere friend 2 truly felt: a sincere desire

To mean what you say or do. In other words, don't be two faced, don't say one thing, and mean another, or say you will do one thing but then go and do something completely different. To be honest in word and deed, to let your faith, the things you really believe in, be shown through the way you live your life. Don't be a person who says one thing (e.g. someone who always appears "holier than thou", never putting a foot wrong in front of other people, and yet at home, behind closed doors, is an adulterer, a liar, a cheat or whatever. Our words and deeds should reflect Jesus at work in our lives.

I've just had a quick read through all of the above, and it is clear that James used very few words to describe wisdom but meant an awful lot more than he was actually saying. But when you break it all down, isn't this the behaviour that Jesus expects of us? If we are to demonstrate the love of Christ, the love of God to all men, then surely we need to exercise wisdom, to be peace loving, sincere, impartial, full of mercy and good fruit, submissive and considerate?

It does not mean that we become doormats, allowing others to just take us for granted, walk all over us, but that we stand up for what is right, what is good, what is true, what is noble and we fight injustice, wrongdoing, bigotry, and so on. We don't allow public opinion or political correctness to stand in the way of saying something is wrong, or prevent us from standing up for the underdog, the poor, the defenceless, those who cannot speak up for themselves.

Maybe if the church was to do more of this, instead of seeking to give offence to no man, of trying to fit in with the world, we would be better disciples of Jesus.