Wisdom Bears Fruit

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. James 3:17

Solomon knew the importance of wisdom, he knew that he needed it in abundance if he was to govern God’s people in a true, fair and just manner. So, when the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Ask what I shall give you”, Solomon knew exactly what he wanted. His prayerful response to God is beautiful and heartfelt. He was the son of the great King David and yet there was no trace of arrogance or entitlement in his tone. Instead, he felt vulnerable and inadequate in his position and ends his prayer with this request: “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (1Kin 3:9). This pleased the Lord greatly.

The wisdom we need to live a life pleasing to God does not come from man or the rulers of this age which pass away. It comes from above and is the hidden wisdom of God, the demonstration of the Spirit and His power (1Cor 2). If you look at today’s verse closely you can see that from wisdom flows the fruit of the Spirit.

Firstly, wisdom is pure. There is no ambiguity, it is true and faithful to the ways of God. Following that, it has the ability to bring peace to a situation, not through dictatorship but by way of reason, patiently listening and discussing in a gentle manner. It bestows kindness, even when it is undeserved. Wisdom makes decisions not based on human emotion but on sound judgement with a disciplined mind. It stands to reason therefore, that the better our understanding of the things of God, the more fruitful we will become.

The Lord gave Solomon enough wisdom to govern a nation, so if we ask, He will certainly give us enough to govern our own lives.