During our current quarter, my students and I have been studying the book of James. So far the study has been pretty challenging - not only for the students but for myself as well. The book of James has so much in it and studying the book verse by verse has been fun. The students and I have been searching for pieces of gold to take home with us each week and apply to our lives.

This week are focusing on James 3:13-18.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 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 asked my students to write or draw on the board what they thought of when they heard the word “wisdom.” Students wrote things varying from encyclopedias to an old man with a long white beard. They had a lot of examples of “old people” that came up in conversation. I ask them if a 14-year-old could be wise and they all responded yes. When I asked them why they didn’t write anyone on the board that was younger, I got crickets. (Don’t you love when that happens?!) As we started talking more about why they thought the different people or items were wise, I began to realize that my girls did not really know the definition of wisdom. When I asked them to define wisdom, they gave me definitions for knowledge. Everything they said about the encyclopedias and “old people” had to do with their knowledge.

After I let them struggle with it for a while, I told them a definition of wisdom that someone had given me that really stuck. Wisdom is knowledge applied. Someone can know the facts about the Bible and not be wise. It’s not until they apply the Word to their lives that they are truly wise. And the honest fact is – the world has wisdom of it’s own. When we apply what we know from the world (such as bitter envy or self-seeking) our wisdom will be tainted by the world and will be earthly, sensual, demonic.

I love that James has a few other things to say that couple with the idea of wisdom being knowledge applied. A verse that I’m working with my students to memorize is James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Week after week I point out to my students this verse. I don’t want them to just sit in my Sunday school class and hear the Word; I want them to put it to practice in their everyday lives. I want them to have true wisdom.. their knowledge applied!

Now, the “word nerd” that I am took James 3:17 and issued my students a challenge. Each day this week, we are focusing on a different characteristic of Godly wisdom. Verse 17 says, “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.” So Sunday we focused on PURE. Yesterday we focused on being PEACE-LOVING. Today we will focus on being GENTLE. And so on. I challenged them to think about the specific word each day. Whatever they do, wherever they are, I want them to be thinking of that word and how they should be DOING the word and not just hearing it.

Wisdom is knowledge applied. We must be doers of the Word and not merely hearers. I want to teach my students that the Christian life isn’t about attaining facts about the Bible but about how we can apply that knowledge to our own lives and even more how we can know God through his Word. God is so gracious and generous. He even says we can ask for wisdom! James 1:5 declares, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

A few great resources that I have been using to study James are:

“James: Faith Under Pressure” by Pam Gibbs (Great devotional on the book of James for teen girls)

“James: Mercy Triumphs” by Beth Moore (Typical Beth Moore series driven by video and daily homework)
“The Book of James: An Archive of Exegetical Sermon Notes” by Johnny M. Hunt (Pastor Johnny’s sermon notes on James)

Also, a book that I’ve been waiting to read on wisdom is “Girl Gone Wise” by Mary Kassian. I haven’t read it yet so I can’t fully recommend it but a lot of my sweet girls ministry friends have read it and found it useful. From my understanding, the book is a look at wisdom in the book of Proverbs and how girls can be wise instead of wild