Be Open to Wisdom - Crosswalk Couples Devotional - June 15
Be Open to Wisdom
By Michelle Lazurek
“...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)
My mother-in-law has been a foster care parent for the past few years. She cares for young girls, placing them in her home until their homes are more suitable for their return and reunification with their parents. Despite her age, the young girls care about her, and she takes good care of them. A few months ago, the state approached her about being a permanent guardian for a young girl in her care. Despite our mother-in-law’s caregiving skills, we had severe reservations. We were concerned about my mother-in-law's age since the girl was only nine.
At 75, we feared she might be too old to undertake this new endeavor. She may enjoy it for the next few years, but she'll be in her mid-80s when the girl is officially an adult. We were also concerned since it has been a long time since she raised children; it might be difficult for her to navigate the new world of technology. Because she raised her children in a world without phones, it may be difficult for her to understand the dangers this young girl could face without proper knowledge.
One day, when she was at the house, we prepared to have a challenging conversation with her. We expressed our concerns, including her age, and told her we had severe reservations about this. Although she did not take our advice and went ahead with the guardianship, we know we did the right thing by expressing our concerns because we are looking out for her and want her to have a rich, whole life, not burdened down by the worries of caring for a young girl. Although she was upset about our concerns and didn't handle them properly, we know she is aware that we were only looking out for her and doing what was in her best interest.
Our life wisdom is different from the wisdom we receive from God. The above verse describes the characteristics of God's wisdom: it is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, merciful, impartial, and sincere. After much prayer and consideration, we expressed our concerns to her out of genuine love. We had nothing to gain from the conversation. We had a lot to lose.
We knew this wouldn't sit right with her because we had had no major arguments with our mother-in-law over the years. When she protested our concerns, we argued for an hour or so before the conversation ended. But people who genuinely love the Lord will courageously share their opposing opinions without fear of rejection or of not receiving that person's approval.
God used many prophets to proclaim his wisdom in the Old Testament. For example, the prophet Nathan boldly told David that he was in sin by having an affair with Bathsheba. It took him a significant risk to express himself in that way since David had the power to have him and all his men killed. However, Nathan's desire to follow God and relay his wisdom about the situation outweighed the risk to his own life. That's what true wisdom does.
The Christian life is not always simply about telling people what they want to hear. Although it would be nice to live in a world surrounded by people who only offer encouraging words, it is essential to have people in your life who are willing to tell you the hard things and to have the hard conversations.
Those people are the ones who genuinely love you and are looking out for your best interest. Although my mother-in-law did not heed our wisdom, we did what was best out of our desire to please God and to relay the knowledge he had placed on our prayerful hearts. These hard conversations are not easy, but they are necessary for growth and understanding.
Surround yourself with people who will build you up and are willing to have hard conversations. You will grow into a mature follower of Christ in these people's company.
Father, let us be people who are willing to relay your wisdom. Let us not simply avoid conversations for fear of hurting others' feelings, but rather tell people the truth, with God's wisdom, which knows people's hearts intimately, so that they may grow into fully mature people of God. Amen.
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