James 3: 13 – 18 “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness. “
Ever have one of those days when EVERYTHING goes wrong? You fall out on the wrong side of the bed! You go to brush your teeth and realize you just squirted shaving cream onto your toothbrush. When you put milk in your morning coffee, you realize the milk passed its expiry date a LONG time ago! You hop in your car for your morning commute, only to learn that you left the lights on last night and your battery is absolutely dead! And so it goes throughout the day. There’s a favorite children’s book by Judith Viorst called “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” Parents like to read it because they can identify with Alexander!
Sadly, when a day starts off badly, we continue to make it worse by the things we say and the way we handle ourselves. How little do we realize that we are the ones who control the emotional atmosphere immediately around us!
“Deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom…” I have practiced medicine for more than forty years, and I can tell you that the longer I continue, the more humble I become because each day I learn more about how little I know. Wise doctors are humble doctors.
Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition are deadly. Most people know that the same Coca Cola you drink has enough acid in it to clean corrosion off the terminals of a car battery. When we continually obsess about how much others have hurt us, how much we LONG to hurt others, how we are going to advance, no matter whom we crush in the process – we are pouring acid all over our souls. Have you ever seen a photo of someone with an acid burn? The tissue looks like melted wax. Harbor bitterness in your soul and your soul will be destroyed.
“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness. ” Want peace? Then stop focusing on evil and focus on purity. Don’t plot revenge; instead, ask yourself how you can be a person of peace in your situation. Jesus warned his disciples “Do not judge, or you will be judged. For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2)
Bitterness is like a well – thrown boomerang; it will always come back. But there’s another problem with bitterness. All farmers know that when you sow a little seed, you will reap far more than you sowed in the first place. Unfortunately, the same thing is true in the spirit world: sow righteousness, and you will harvest huge amounts of righteousness. But sow hatred, jealousy, anger, and bitterness, and those too will multiply….. and come back to you multiplied many times over!
Each moment we have a choice: we can sow righteousness and peace or bitterness and hatred. And each time we make a wrong choice, we are bringing curses upon ourselves. Today, let us examine our hearts and make choices that will lead to peace.
PRAYER: Father God, help us! We want to make the right choices, but it is so easy to become angry or bitter when we are wronged. Lord, give us the power of your Holy Spirit, that we might confess every the black things that are hiding in the corners of our hearts so that you can get rid of them. Please, Lord, help us to follow hard after you all the days of our lives. We thank you that you have promised that if we sow righteousness and peace, we will reap fruits of righteousness and peace for ourselves and for those around us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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