A Life Worthy

The wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17).

I got a great new app.  It’s called “Sincerity.”  It automatically scrolls through my contacts list, picking names at random.  It then matches each name to one of a list of encouraging Scripture passages.  Once a day, it sends an uplifting message to the people in my life, letting them know that I’m thinking about them, and that I care deeply.

Except I’m not.

And I don’t.

OK, you’re right; there’s no such app.  And if there were, it would be terrible.  But, for a moment, you were thinking, “Hey…”

Weren’t you?

One of my favorite poems is called Psalm of Single-Mindedness, by Joe Bayly.  It begins like this

Lord of reality, make me real.

Not plastic

Synthetic

Pretend

Phony

An actor playing out a part

Hypocrite.

I don’t want to keep a prayer list—I want to pray…

The poem goes on from there, but you get the picture.  It has been my prayer so often that I have a copy of the poem taped to the inside cover of my Bible.

So, Beloved, are you walking into your day fueled by the knowledge of His love and the power of that love to change the lives around you…or are you just saying what you know you’re supposed to say and doing what you know you’re supposed to do?

Don’t rush past this—chew on it for a bit.

There’s no power in going through the motions.

Even if they’re good motions.

May I make a suggestion?  Pray that God would blast through your hypocrisy today.  Pray that he would rub your soul raw, that you might feel this world as he does.  Pray that God would break your heart all over again.

It will be painful, disturbing, dangerous maybe.

But…

Don’t just walk like you mean it, Beloved.

Mean it.

The wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit… (James 3:17).

You can tell a tree by the fruit it produces.

That’s a pretty simple metaphor.  You find it all through the Bible.

And it makes sense.

If you are walking in the wisdom of God, you will do things that reflect God’s character.  You will be merciful, because the God you follow is merciful.  You will walk in grace and strength and purity because these are qualities of the One you serve.  Conversely, if you walk in the wisdom of this world, you will bear the fruit of self-centeredness, greed, arrogance, and folly.  Because that’s what this world is about.

You see where I’m going, here?

If you want to want to judge a tree, look at its fruit.

If you want to judge a heart…

It’s Tuesday, Beloved.

Be a good tree.

The wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate… (James 3:17).

What does James mean, that wisdom should be considerate?  Well, try this.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4).

The wisdom of this world says, “Look out for yourself.”

The wisdom of God says, “Look out for the other guy.”

Without Christ, taking care of yourself is a full-time job.  Who’s got time and energy to think about others?  Besides, you’ve gotta look out for Number One, because if you don’t, who will?

But you are not without Christ.

You are in Christ, and he is in you.

And he is Number One.

In Christ, you are strong—it does not weaken you to put others first.

In Christ, you are safe—it does not endanger you to put others first.

In Christ, you are complete—it does not diminish you to put others first.

So…do it.

It’s Friday, Beloved.  Walk in wisdom.

Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell (James 3:5-6).

When I was a kid, my grandparents took me to a party.  I don’t know what they were thinking—they must have been hard up for a babysitter.  All I know is that it was a grandparents-type party, and I was the only one in the place who was not able to discuss bursitis, the Depression, and the genius of Ike from a first-hand perspective.

I was bored nigh unto death, and I went looking for entertainment.

I discovered the bathroom, in which a candle was burning.

Hmm…

Fire needs oxygen in order to keep…being fire.  I had learned that somewhere.  My intense boredom combined with my utter lack of common sense produced a deep need for a science experiment.  The candle was of the small votive-type, burning happily at the bottom of a jar-thingy.  All I needed was something to cover the mouth of the jar-thingy and seal out the oxygen…

I looked around the room…

Toilet paper…perfect!

At least the party ceased to be boring.

We have all seen the damage that fire can cause.  Forests, homes, lives destroyed by the careless match, the unseen spark, the idiot kid with a votive candle and lack of common sense.

At the same time, fire is one of our most important tools.  Light, heat, and tasty barbecue all come from that same spark.

Fire must be controlled.  Fire must be treated with respect and a healthy dollop of fear for the damage it can cause.

Of course, James isn’t really talking about fire here, is he?

Watch your sparks today, Beloved.