Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Wisdom

It has struck me lately how much time we waste agonizing over not only our own families decisions, but the decisions of others. We are so quick to judge whether or not a particular family is doing the "right" thing based on what we feel God has led our family to do. And no- I am not saying truth is relative or any such nonsense. God's Word is truth and contains all that we need for "instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim 3:16). When we are lacking wisdom we are told in James 1:5 to "ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." How is it then if Christians are all seeking God's Word for wisdom in our many decisions we come to different conclusions? The issues at the forefront of my mind are the ones that women bloggers all over the world are "discussing"- birth control vs quiver full, homeschool vs public school vs private school, what it means to dress modestly (skirts and dresses ALL the time? only skirts or dresses to church?) etc.... Well, I think the simple answer is SIN. We need to stop expecting others to make the same choices as us! Who are we to say that since God has convicted us of a certain thing, it must be the right choice for everyone else? How about if instead of trying to point out to people why their decision is wrong, we are examples of the wisdom from above spoken of in James 3:17 and 18? "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." I have to confess that I am more often than not impure, argumentative, harsh, stubborn, merciless, and hypocritical. It is my natural tendency and I pray God will work in me to make me peaceable and gentle! "Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. " (Philippians 4:5) If we can display the wisdom of James 3 perhaps we will be an unspoken encouragement to others to turn to God's Word when trying to make a decision. We can be a "sermon in shoes" as a song from my childhood said.

I think the people who have been the greatest inspiration and influence to me are those that show grace towards others. They kindly ask people how certain things in their lives are going even if it wouldn't be their choice. For example, just because we have chosen to homeschool doesn't mean we are ANTI- day school! We can still be interested in the lives of our friends who have chosen to send their children to school! We can ask those kids how they like their teacher this year, what their favorite subject is, etc. And it goes both ways! I don't want people to be too afraid or too proud to ask my children what they're learning about in history or what their favorite subject is! You may not want to homeschool and you might even think we are crazy or anti-social for doing so. We have our reasons- just like you have your reasons to send your children to school. It is not my place to judge whether another families reasons for sending their kids to school each day are "right" or not!

If we are truly asking God for wisdom, seeking truth from His Word then we should recognize the need for GRACE! Where would we be without it?! I want to be a kind person who inspires others to love Christ and to grow in the knowledge of His Word. It is so full and rich with truth for life! May He write it on my heart- and on yours, my friend! May He be so gracious as to impart His wisdom to us!

1 comment:

Middle-Aged Moi said...

YES! GREAT post! I agree!