But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don’t brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere.
James 3:14-17
I don’t know about you but when I think about wisdom my mind usually goes toward some evaluation of intelligence. In the Apostle James epistle wisdom is related to character traits. Those whose character exhibits jealousy and selfishness are deemed unwise. Those with Godly wisdom exhibit the character traits of purity, gentleness, self sacrifice, peacemaker, equality and sincerity. They are “full of mercy and good deeds.”
When you look at wisdom in this way, good grades, college degrees, high IQ’s and super intelligence (none of which are bad in themselves), aren’t even a consideration. Wisdom is about your action, not about how you think.
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