The Wise Guy in the Mirror
Friday - February 19th
Devotionals from the Book of James
Scripture to Read Today: James 3:13-18
God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.
1 Corinthians 1:27
Have you ever been around someone who tells you how smart and wise they are? When I was a kid, I went with my Dad to pick up a small "jon boat" he bought from a guy he worked with at the factory. I might have been seven or eight years old at the time. This guy talked big. He told my Dad about all the intelligent decisions he had made lately and how he had set others straight. He was full of himself. Even as a kid, I found it off-putting.
To this day, I have not met anybody who fulfilled Isaiah 5:21 as much as that guy did. "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight." Dad's co-worker was wise and clever from his own perspective. He was in love with the wise guy in the mirror. He believed he was smarter than anybody else. And, everyone had to know it.
James 3:13-18 describes the difference between wisdom that comes from God and human wisdom. If you re-read this passage of James, you can see how much being wise in your own eyes contradicts heavenly wisdom. "The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere" (James 3:17).
The man selling the boat describing how smart and wise he was falls far short of the description of godly wisdom James gives. There was little about his verbal swagger that was peace-loving or considerate of others. When Dad and I got in the car, Dad said the man was a "big-talker."
Few, if any, "big-talkers" would be described as anything but "wise in their own eyes." After spending some time with you, do people walk away thinking of you that way? Do they feel relieved when their interaction with you finally comes to an end?
Ask God to open your eyes to His wisdom today. Ask Him to help you move beyond any hint of human wisdom.
People wise in their own eyes wear others out with how smart they say they are. Be wise in God's eyes!