wisdom from above

There is a description of a mature, composed person:

James 3
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The contrast is between harshly driven 'self' vs. granted (from above) poise.  Wise enough to be:
pure - not mixed
peaceable, gentle, open to reason - not fearful, willing to consider options
full of mercy, character (good fruits), impartial, sincere - not hollow, already defined by transcendent good, not just a personally defined 'good' (e.g. 'good for me')

What is gained by being someone who receives and applies 'wisdom from above'?
a crop of 'righteousness'
again, what is 'righteousness'?  Things as they should be.  Copacetic, and all that ;-)

How should I pursue this 'rightness', this shalom, this sukkha, this 'yeah baby, that's what i'm talkin' 'bout!', this 'yesssss'?

be at peace and go about things peacefully (not unilaterally, e.g. selfishly, connivingly).

How does that happen?  Circle back to 'wisdom from above'.  The GOSPEL is that Jesus is Supreme, which personally means his offer of reconciliation to God (supreme good and great) is real and applicable to me without costs (e.g. 'gratis').

So....
I should not be grabby and aggressive.
I should turn upward to God and receive his gracious wisdom.
That should calm me down, mainly due to feeling safe, loved, provided for, informed, etc.
Then I look at opportunities with a belief that there is a healthy, shalom-type outcome to pursue
That makes it easier not to get defensive, anxious and weird
Then I learn more and am able to better reconcile concepts (beliefs, ideals, etc.) and actual experiences.
Done rightly this goes from peace (at rest with God), through peace (not anxious when encountering options) to peace (actually good outcomes, or contentment with challenges if things don't work out).

That seems to be what is going on in the end of James 3.  James 4 will describe why that is so hard to achieve.

James 4

    [4:1] What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? [2] You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. [3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. [4] You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [5] Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? [6] But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” [7] Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
    [11] Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. [12] There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
    [13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— [14] yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. [15] Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. [17] So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
(James 4 ESV)

Thailand struggles; Red Camp

The situation in Bangkok is serious.  As an outsider I have a limited understanding of the situation.  For that reason, primarily, I do not intend these photos or comments related to them to be advocating more than a call to be aware and to pray.
These are snaps from an iPhone while walking through the 'Reds' protest camp in central Bangkok on Sunday evening, May 9th.
The photos in this post and the next show barricades, blocked off streets, markets set up inside the camp (including a very stylish monk cart), issues of rubbish piles (though the was surprisingly tidy considering), some information walls with photos from recent violence and appeals for help, and big screen projections of the main stage from which leaders called for government change in front of a banner declaring they were 'peaceful protesters, not terrorists'
The crowds were quite large with an odd mix of families, vendors, focused activists and some serious looking men looking toward a serious clash.  Last night that clash accelerated, and today the camp is being pressured by government forces.  I have no idea how shalom can be formed in the near future, but I'm certain it is needed urgently and deeply.



 

Thailand struggles: View in the Red Camp

kvrx Austin - iTunes radio station of the day.

Looking for better music exposure.

Proverbs 14:23 talk vs. work

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty

Plans don't work- people do.  Or not.  Frequent scheming about doing things this way or that can take the place of actually zeroing in on something and getting it done.  Do I want to profit?  In what ways?  How hard am I willing to work to pursue that profit (treasure, thing that is valued)?

Monday, fresh start

I've suspended writing for quite some time.  It is largely due to my move and change in role.  I am going to see about starting back up.  Partly because it is a good discipline for thinking, partly because I need to work on writing in general.  I have 1 book I need to write within the next 2 years.

Monday- Why is there good?  God is self-existent, God is good, God created a good world.  So, we find good throughout creation; sometimes only a remnant of good, but good none the less.  Devotionally it is good to start the week acknowledging goodness is from God.  Pursuing God, incidentally, is the best way in which to pursue good.

There.  Post written.  Now get on with Monday and see what goodness is waiting.