James 3:17 “But the wisdom from heaven is first of all pure, then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.”
Well, Lord, our conversation today will be a long one. There is a lot here and I want to glean all I can from it, so please Holy Spirit, guide me into all truth today.
Wisdom from heaven is first of all pure. That would mean that all of the others listed cannot occur without purity, right? Without a pure heart we are selfish and selfishness causes all of the other opposites. If we pursue selfish ambition we will be: impure, stir up strife and division when possible, inconsiderate, and unsubmissive, without mercy (judgmental and totally intolerant), produce rotten fruit, show favoritism, and be insincere. Wow! If we read the paper or listen to the news for any length of time, it will not be hard to see the conditions of most hearts.
Lord, sadly I cannot say that since You saved me, I have never been any of the impure things but have always, every day had a pure heart. Lord, please forgive me! That is what I desire…a pure selfless heart, wholly dedicated to, and ruled by, You!
I am a peace loving person. I really hate conflict of any kind. I think most of Your children love peace for themselves. Unfortunately, we don’t always see how what we say or what we do to others causes them turmoil and conflict. There are times when we can ask someone a question and it sets off conflict with others. Our motives and heart can be pure, but theirs may not be. There are those however, who get great joy from stirring up strife among others…even in the church. This is one in the list of things in Proverbs 6:16-19 that You hate:
· Haughty eyes- pride, not a pure heart
· A lying tongue- insincerity, selfishness, hypocrisy
· Hands that shed innocent blood- abortionists, ethic cleansing, drunk drivers- certainly not pure, peaceable or unselfish mercy
· A heart that devises wicked plans- those who seek revenge, schemers- no pure heart here
· Feet that run rapidly after evil- all manner of crimes against humanity- certainly selfish and impure
· False witness who utters lies- Lord You experienced that while You were here…and from the religious leaders!
Considerate
Lord there is no way selfish ambition and consideration for others goes together, unless the consideration shown to others is false to gain an advantage for oneself. You chided the religious leaders of Your day as being whitewashed tombs full of dead man’s bones (Matthew 23:27).
Submissive
Lord, I am to be submissive to You, to my husband, to the church Pastors and teachers, to the government, and to my employer in that order. Lord, here I must confess that I have not always been submissive to any and all of these. In some cases I provided lip service but my heart was unsubmissive for selfish reasons, Lord, forgive me!
Full of Mercy and Good Fruit
Selfish ambition and bitter envy can neither be merciful, nor can produce good fruit. As a piece of fruit with just a tiny spot of rot rots quickly, so the “good” deeds done with false motives from an impure heart becomes unveiled for what they really are. Unmerciful attitudes are very quick to spot. Those people want mercy for themselves, but are not willing to give mercy to others. You told a parable about that in the story of the wicked servant who was forgiven an unfathomable debt by a king, and then sent another servant to jail because he owed a tiny debt to him.
Impartial
Lord, selfish impure hearts are not, nor can they ever be, impartial. They seek after, and show favoritism to, those who can advance either their career, social standing, or agendas. They use people instead of promoting and encouraging others.
Sincere
Lord, the word hypocrite comes to mind. In Matthew 23 You expose the religious leaders for what they really were…insincere.
Lord, “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight.” Psalm 19:14 NIV
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my (selfish) anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” Psalm 139:23-24
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