Lookahead: Now I’m sure the LORD doesn’t want us beating ourselves up for every sin or mistake we’ve ever made–that He’s OBTW forgiven! And He also doesn’t want us having blame-placing dialogues with our adversary. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 Nevertheless, and said as an objective observation only, something that is universally absent in all these accounts is…the Fear of the LORD. 🙂 God knows every microscopic detail of every circumstance, including the fact that He was not to blame. However, no one seems to be worried about Him saying, hmmmmm, or tossing a lightning bolt; Or Him saying, “Your sniveling is really getting on my nerves! Wake up–I’m God and you’re not!!” There’s no fear in their behavior whether they’re “yoyo Christians” or sold-out for the duration. So is that such a good thing? hmmmmmm
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness. James 3:13-18
This isn’t the first time that James addressed the topic of wisdom in his letter: (If now) any one of you is wanting in wisdom, let him ask from God, who gives to all liberally and upbraids not, and it shall be given to him. James 1:4,5 And to recap my previous post, Unpacking #5 – How Wise is That?, on those verses:
Solomon did not pray for wisdom. He prayed that God would help him to discern between good and evil so that he could judge the people. Subsequently he became one of the wisest people whoever lived. But then I questioned how wise was it for Solomon to worship false gods? Obviously he quit the wisdom of God for the wisdom of man at some point. Now quoting from post:
“As we further define wisdom, we see that there is a big difference between the wisdom of man, and the wisdom of God. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness’; and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’ 1 Corin 3:18 – 20
“Question: So what happens when we have the wisdom of man versus the wisdom of God? Answer: ‘(God) catches the wise in their own craftiness’; This quote is actually from Job 5:13. Basically it says that the wisdom of man isn’t wisdom–it’s craftiness. And possibly the difference between the two types of wisdom goes to motive. The craftiness word is ‘orem’ in the Hebrew, and means craftiness, shrewdness, stratagem; so I guess we’re talking about a hidden scheme in a competition–probably not God-authored. And ultimately, the thoughts of the wise are futile; futile as in ‘vain, unreal, ineffectual, unproductive’ and also ‘aimless, without purpose, fleeting, transitory, groundless.'”
And o-b-t-dub, as today’s scriptural passage subjoins, rounding out James 1, such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. It’s more than fleshly v. spiritual, as I said in the last post. It’s evil, and right from our adversary. Hyprocrites bear no fruit. But here are the real believer’s characteristics:
…pure…peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness. James 3:17,18
I believe today’s verses, James 3:13-18, are a continuation of the Tongue Thread with a couple of more recommendations on the topic of speaking logistics: do not boast in (jealousy and ambition) or deny the truth. Then this passage expands out to cover all behavior of a Christian and all of our deeds done in the humility that comes from Godly Wisdom. Why would humility come from wisdom?
Through His gift of Wisdom, the LORD teaches us to be humble–just as He taught us that He Himself is meek and lowly in heart. Matt 11:29 More on that in the next post. But, in addition, when it’s Godly Wisdom, then we are generally highly humbled and grateful for the download. And in fact, there are several instances in scripture in which it is said that, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Fear here does not mean phobic terror, but rather a state of awe, deep reverence, and respect. With this fear comes a humbling.
So are we seeing Godly Wisdom or the Fear of the LORD in abundance today? Since my last post, I have been immersed in Millennial Testimonies.1 Right off the bat this week, I encountered three similar testimonies of people who had fallen into major sin–people who basically had zero complaints about their upbringing. All had been raised in functional Christian families, attending church, and with parents who walked the walk. One was even a Pastor’s Kid. On the surface, they had appeared to embrace Jesus. But it was not authentic–they first rebelled inwardly, and eventually outwardly. However, Jesus gloriously rescued them! Today they are all hopelessly in love with Him and serving Him with all they’re worth. My question is, where was the fear when they decided that it was me-/party-time back then…and actually…where is their fear now?
This week I also read a testimony of a different kind. It was about one of the few Auschwitz inmates who had managed to survive as a young child. Most children were sent to the gas chambers upon arrival. It is estimated that more than 200,000 children were systematically slaughtered. When the camp was liberated, there were only 52 children remaining under the age of 8 (this survivor was five and a half, and had arrived there at the age of 3). Many of the 52 were children whom Dr. Joseph Mengele (referred to as the Angel of Death) had kept alive for his brutal experiments; but this survivor had been mercifully spared from that horrific torture. What makes her testimony so unique was the complete lack of fear that this woman (Tova Friedman) had, back then as a child…and now.
Mrs. Friedman attributes this lack of fear to her parents, both of whom remained completely objective and pragmatic in their response to the horrors that were all around them. They were also totally transparent with their daughter. When the Nazi’s began systematically clearing the ghetto buildings of all occupants during the night, for transport to death camps or mass shootings in the woods, Tova Friedman’s parents were completely honest. They told her that if they were taken during the night, they’d be killed either right away or when they arrived at the death camp. The father invested a lot of his time gathering any news/info he could, and always seemed to be one step ahead of the Nazi’s next move. The mother fastidiously taught her three-year old a complex set of rules/regs that the latter needed to follow in order to survive. When one poor woman drifted into the path of a Nazi on the street, and dared to make eye contact with him, she was shot on the spot. Mother and daughter discussed how unfortunate the woman’s death was, nevertheless, she had disobeyed the “path-clearing” rules–so what was to be expected? Whatever horrific thing was happening, the mother re-framed it as “business as usual.” The child thought that living under a table, in an apartment with 50 roommates, was normal. Or sleeping while standing for three days on a transport was normal. Tova Friedman fully credited her mother with her survival during three brutal years.
Unfortunately she, at no point, credited God with her survival and, in fact, was an atheist for years; but eventually explored her Jewish roots, and embraced Judaism–though not God! Today she is an observant Jew, somehow able to keep the Law without worshipping God at all. Sometimes, she’s still not sure that God exists. During the times when she thinks He might, she is angry at Him: “God owes us an explanation.”
And yet hers is an unbelievable testimony of God’s salvation at every step of the way–I counted 15+ bonafide miracles that God worked in order to save, not only her, but the lives of her parents as well. How was He able to intervene? The father was a praying man and I believe that he interceded for his family in a big way. As a result, God responded with miracles like (1) the severely malnourished family being able to survive a transport in crushing heat with no food or water for three days, (2) mother and daughter not getting immediately sent to gas chambers when the family arrived at Auschwitz (camp operated at “reduced capacity” that day…because it was a Sunday). Then there was the time that (3) the little girl survived a brutal beating by a guard, as well as (4) diphtheria and scarlet fever with no medical care and separated from her mother. (5) Twice she was marched to the gas chambers, then sent back due to clerical errors because the inmates’ tatoo’d numbers didn’t track the official list. (6) And the fact that all three of them survived as a family unit is astonishing in itself. (7) When the transport arrived at Auschwitz, the father was re-routed to Dachau and somehow managed to survive that pit of hell as well. And so on and so on… How? In my view, only God!! I believe that the father feared the LORD, to the point of chanting the Mourner’s Kaddish (which is a hymn of total praise to God) when he was on corpse burial duty.
A common thread that ran through these testimonies was almost a “This is not really my fault!” mentality; the speakers tried to shift the responsibility for their (individual or corporate) sins back onto their abusers, or even, God. 😦 A lot of the millennials seemed to have that contravening conjunction, but, in their repentance experiences. I heard one testimony in which the woman said, “I believed God existed, but I hated Him.” After she began to follow Jesus, she blamed her backsliding on Him, essentially saying, “but this coping mechanism is helping me to handle all the past abuse that You allowed.” A cartel leader transferred his management skills from getting people addicted to illegal drugs, to winning souls for Christ; but he didn’t seem to have that gut-wrenching brokenness about the thousands of ruined lives and deaths he indirectly caused along the way (à la John Newton). Instead he was utterly focused on teaching future generations so they wouldn’t stray at a young age–as he had done–because they didn’t tell him about God. Another person said that early on, her relationship was basically only going to Jesus when she needed something. Eventually she went to Jesus again because she needed…Him to change her “You’re-My-Genie-In-A-Lamp” mentality. 🙂
Now I’m sure the LORD doesn’t want us beating ourselves up for every sin or mistake we’ve ever made–that He’s OBTW forgiven! And He also doesn’t want us having blame-placing dialogues with our adversary. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 Nevertheless, and said as an objective observation only, something that is universally absent in all these accounts is…the Fear of the LORD. 🙂 God knows every microscopic detail of every circumstance, including the fact that He was not to blame. However, no one seems to be worried about Him saying, hmmmmm, or tossing a lightning bolt; Or Him saying, “Your sniveling is really getting on my nerves! Wake up–I’m God and you’re not!!” There’s no fear in their behavior whether they’re “yoyo Christians” or sold-out for the duration. So is that such a good thing? hmmmmmm
I actually think it is, in fact, I think that’s the way God wants it. I do not believe that He wants people kowtowing to Him in an attempt to escape punishment. I think He wants people bowing in worship because they have realized how (words cannot describe how) great He is.
I also think that once new believers reach the “Sold-Out” phase, they may still be disrespectful. But the more you get to know Him, the more you love, respect, revere, and bow down to Him. Now that’s wisdom!
To be continued…
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