Today’s scripture: James 3:13-16 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Sue Robinson):
Have you ever had someone in your life that you felt was truly wise? Not smart, but wise. There is a great difference in the two.
When I was just out of high school, I married and was gifted with an amazing mother-in-law. She was many years older than I was and even old enough to be my mother’s parent. She was a survivor of the Great Depression and could make a penny go further than anyone I have ever known. Her stories of deprivation and hardship were hard to imagine. She worked so hard for so little. One story she told was of taking care of her father who had dementia. She worked cleaning up in a nursing home (not the bright, cheery places like today) for $5.00 per week. Her dad’s medicine came to $4.50 per week. The rooming house that they lived in had rats in the walls, and she stayed awake nights to keep them from bothering her father by knocking them over the head with her shoe heel. She had so many stories of a similar nature that she could tell them for hours.
She was of above average intelligence, and I’m sure she could have gone on to college if the opportunity had been there. No such offer was expected or even imagined. Instead she worked for years cleaning other people’s homes and offices, and as a custodian at Ben Davis High School. But was she ever wise! No one could touch her in the wisdom of living.
When our two boys, 11 months apart, fought over who got the most or biggest piece, her wisdom of Solomon said, “Let one do the dividing, and the other gets first pick.” How’s that for wisdom!
But it was in the area of spirituality that she shined the brightest. It was from her that I learned that there was a Savior who loved and wanted a relationship with me. From her, too, I learned that some of what I earned each week belonged to God. (She tithed even on the smallest amount.) And I learned to take problems to God as she did, expecting an answer because God cared for me.
Verse 13 of our passage says that if you are wise, you should show it by living right and doing good things with a gentleness that comes from wisdom. Verse 17 states that the wisdom that comes from God is first of all pure, then peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. She definitely modeled this way of living.
Beulah Robinson died three years ago at the ripe age of 97. How thankful am I that God put her in my path to teach me and to gently guide a stubborn, bull-headed heart like mine.
Prayer for the day: Lord, help us to see the wise ones in our midst and to learn from the example they set. And let us always be thankful that you have placed their lives as a living model for us to follow. Amen.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.