James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

I find I quote James a lot, because his letter has a lot of very practical, down-to-earth stuff in it. The whole matter of wisdom is a really complicated one. In the first place, as Brother Kawata brought out in his message July 29th, wisdom is not the same as knowledge. That is to say, in blunt terms, that being ignorant is not the same as being stupid. Sometimes we don’t like to admit we’re ignorant, but we really don’t like to admit we’re stupid! That’s why it takes courage to receive God’s supply of wisdom, as James is talking about here. Frankly, education in most countries today is focused on knowledge rather than wisdom, and people are not taught the analytical skills that help them toward wisdom. As the saying goes, “We grow too soon old and too late smart.” If you really believe the Bible, and specifically what James says here, then you understand that admitting you aren’t smart is the smartest thing you can do! Eve thought she was smart enough to figure things out for herself, with the “help” of the serpent, instead of accepting that only God had true wisdom, and He had her best interests in mind. (Genesis 3) Pride is the biggest obstacle to receiving God’s wisdom, and pride always gets us into trouble.

This is an area where I’ve had a tremendous struggle. Growing up, I was always different from my peers. I was different from my Japanese friends because I was an American. I was different from my friends at school because they were from military families and I was not, plus they were only in Japan for a couple of years, but I was here long term. Particularly at school I retreated into a “nerd” persona, because I was certainly not athletically gifted but I did have a high IQ. Because school classes were for the most part easy for me, I became proud of my “brains,” and used that as a shield against my strong social insecurity. Frankly, I mistook knowledge and IQ for wisdom, which showed my lack of wisdom! It was only a very few years ago that the Lord finally got it through my head that He’s smart and I’m not. What a relief it was to come to that place! As long as I think, “I can handle this,” I won’t seek and receive God’s supply of wisdom and everything else needed. It is almost amazing to me that it took me so long to really grasp that. I say almost, because nothing should surprise me about the stupidity of fallen humanity! However, the thing now is not to keep looking back over how I have been, but look forward to what God is making me to be in Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

Father, thank You for Your truly amazing grace. Help me walk in it consistently and lead others to do the same, so that together we may express not only Your wisdom but all of Your other qualities as well, to the world around us, drawing more and more to recognize their own need and Your supply, to repent and believe, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!