Episode 143 - "Got wisdom?" James 1:5
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.
Before I jump into this single verse, let’s remind ourselves of the context of this verse. From the opening verses that we covered last week, we see there is importance to God in followers of Jesus being made “complete.” There’s an underlying principle that even after we have come to faith in the good news of Jesus Christ, God still intends for us to grow into someone that He deems “complete.” The means by which this happens is God’s allowance of “trials of various kinds” (v. 2) in our lives.
Trials of various kinds, James explains, test our faith. The question of this test is “Do we really trust God? Is this so-called faith genuine? A few weeks before my dad died of cancer, the young wife of my friend and mother of their infant child died of Leukemia. I had been begging God to at least spare her. But, God didn’t and I was very upset. It was a trial for me at that time and the test was for me to ask whether I believed that God was still perfectly good AND entirely powerful. Even though God did not spare either this young lady or my dad, I decided I needed to still believe that God didn’t let them die because He was either unable or unwilling. Even though I couldn’t understand why God would allow this, I needed my faith tested because God was using that trial to make me more into what He wanted me to be. As we will see, “faith” is an important concept that James wants his audience to grasp. James continued to explain that a tested faith produces steadfastness (endurance) and the steadfastness works to make us complete, “lacking nothing,” James says. (v. 4)
In this episode, we pick up at verse 5 which begins, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God . . .” Why on earth does he suggest this and what does it have to do with faith and being made complete? First of all, the Bible has quite a bit to say about the value of wisdom. A young Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom to govern the people. (1 Kings 3:5-9) The Lord was pleased with this request and granted it. The book of Proverbs begins with the value of gaining wisdom.
“Prov. 1:2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.”
Among other things, wisdom helps us understand what is right, just, and equitable (v. 3) In short, it helps us make the best decisions when the trials come along. When emotions tend to grip us, wisdom should prevail to guide us in making the best decision for ourselves and others.
James says to ask God for wisdom. God is the source of wisdom. There are people in the world who think they have wisdom and God has no part it in. In 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, Paul says that God’s foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of men. The “cross” is God’s wisdom and it has the power to save mankind from their foolishness and the consequences of it. James continues by saying that God “gives (wisdom) generously to all (who ask for it) without reproach. This qualification “without reproach” is James’ way of saying that God earnestly wants to give you wisdom. He wants people to have the wisdom He alone can and will give.
We need God’s wisdom to endure the trials that will come into our lives so that God can use them to make us complete.