Knowledge vs Wisdom
James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,
who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
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If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. He does not say, if any of you lacks knowledge. Wisdom is the step beyond knowledge. You can know something and not do it, but wisdom is knowledge in action. The book of Proverbs is full of wisdom that comes from following the word of the Lord.
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Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting that tomato in a fruit salad. Make sense? That’s the difference. Don’t overcomplicate it. |
James 1:5-6 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,
who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
Now you might be thinking, “Jason, you’re about to contradict yourself, because you said doubting is okay.” Yes, doubting is okay when you look to Jesus for the answers to your doubt. Faith with no doubt looks like this:
Matthew 17:14-20 “And when they came to the crowd,
a man came up to him and, kneeling before him,
15 said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly.
For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.
16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him."
17 And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you?
How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me."
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"
20 He said to them, "Because of your little faith.
For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."”
a man came up to him and, kneeling before him,
15 said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly.
For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.
16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him."
17 And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you?
How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me."
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"
20 He said to them, "Because of your little faith.
For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."”
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When you ask God for wisdom, you must have the faith that he will give it to you. In other words trust that what he says is what he means. We don’t ask like, “Well, I’ll ask, but I don’t know…” You’re not pushing your limits, asking God for wisdom. He gives generously, without limit, but you have to ask in faith! How strong is your faith?
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Proverbs 2:3-6 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; |
We have a friend in Ohio who swore up and down that God told her to pray over a certain lady who was suffering from MS, depression, fibromyalgia, and was in constant pain. She just wanted out, to be done because of all the pain. Our friend says that God said to pray over in her in faith that he would heal her. This lady’s husband said, “You’re crazy, are you serious?!” But our friend and her husband had them over for dinner, and prayed over her in faith that God would heal her. Everyone except this friend had said, “We’ve done that, it didn’t work,” but she said, “No, God said to do it so I’m going to do it.” This doesn’t happen often. They held hand, and our friend started praying, letting it loose. “God heal her, you said for me to pray over her and you would heal her. I have faith that you will do what you said you would do what you’d do.” Throughout the prayer, our friend could feel the grip tightening on her hand because the pain was leaving the lady’s body. They were floored! Tears were everywhere because she was pain-free by the end of the prayer! I’m not making any of this up! That’s crazy talk in most people’s views.
The faith of a mustard seed. Ask in faith without doubting. Why? Because doubting people are unstable, double-minded. We all know these people. Maybe we are these people. We’ll commit whole-heartedly…to a point. Then we back off. “I’m gonna go this way!....maybe.” “I’m confident that I’m gonna head that way!...after a while, when I get this stuff done.” It’s like the waves on the ocean. It’s frustrating! Do you know people like that? Are you that person? If so, you’re frustrating everyone around you because you don’t have a clear direction and confidence in that direction. Are you unstable?
The faith of a mustard seed. Ask in faith without doubting. Why? Because doubting people are unstable, double-minded. We all know these people. Maybe we are these people. We’ll commit whole-heartedly…to a point. Then we back off. “I’m gonna go this way!....maybe.” “I’m confident that I’m gonna head that way!...after a while, when I get this stuff done.” It’s like the waves on the ocean. It’s frustrating! Do you know people like that? Are you that person? If so, you’re frustrating everyone around you because you don’t have a clear direction and confidence in that direction. Are you unstable?
In the End...
James 1:9-11 “Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass;
its flower falls, and its beauty perishes.
So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.”
10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass;
its flower falls, and its beauty perishes.
So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.”
In the end, I don’t care if you’re in a mansion worth millions or a shack worth hundreds, that’s your destination. Stop finding your confidence and faith in something that’s going to pass away. One of my professors in grad school saved up tons of money. When the market crashed, within a week he lost a million dollars. Within a week! He was a little bummed. But guess what? He’s headed to the same place. I’m not saying don’t strive, because God blesses some people with the ability to make ridiculous cash. If so, do it for him in his name, use it for him in his name. What it says is, stop worrying about it. Stop focusing on it. You’re putting your faith in what you think you’ve accomplished. Stop. Because in the end it doesn’t matter. Whatever you’ve done, you’ll still end up in the hole. That’s not where to find your stability.