Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
I'll be honest, I want to be a wise person. I'm a husband and a father. I want my kids and my wife to think I'm wise. Unfortunately, there's many things I've done in my life that are really stupid. Sometimes I have dreams where I’m speaking in front of people. For some reason, as I'm speaking, I'll realize I don't have my shirt on. That's a make-believe illustration in a dream, however, there's plenty of things I've done in real life that I'm ashamed of. There are times when I'm not wise, despite wanting to be a wise, honorable person.
Our Verse of the Day is James chapter 3, verse 13. "If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom."
Live Honorably
James shows us how to be wise in two ways. I don't know if you're like me, but you want to hear this.
First of all, he says, live honorably. He says it right there in the verse: "If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life." This is classic James language because the context of James is essentially that true faith works itself out in a righteous life. He's basically saying, I need you to live honorably. If you live honorably, if you're wise and you understand God's ways, He says, prove it. The word in the original language is really to prove it by your actions.
The Hebrew uses the word wisdom, sophia—to be skilled in the art of living a godly life. If you want to be a wise person, show it by how you live out your life. It's not just intellectual facts or having knowledge in your head. That's not what it means to be wise. Wisdom is having a wise mind and then living it out in our actions.
Live Humbly
Secondly, He says, live humbly. He says right there in the verse, "...doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom"—from sophia. First Peter chapter 5 says, "Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another." Then he says, "For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Then he says in verse 6: "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you."
Here we are to live humbly, and pride is an enemy that you and I will struggle with every single day of our lives. James is telling us how to live wisely. We can live honorably. That's a wise way of living. Then secondly, to live humbly.
Living Like Jesus
How are you doing? As you think about your life, as you think about the people you circulate with, is there an honorable humility that comes out of your life? I have to be honest. Sometimes I feel like there is in my life. But you know what? We don't want to just live for these two qualities. What we want to do is live humbly and live honorably, because we're living like Jesus Christ.
Jesus was perfect in wisdom. He lived the most honorable life, and He lived it for you and for me. As a matter of fact, He lived that perfect, honorable, humble, wise life for us. Then He went to a cross and died a terrible, ignominious death for us, and was buried and rose again. As we look at this verse in James, as we think about living honorably and living humbly, let's live like Jesus Christ, who loved us, lived for us, and died for us.
