Relationship PuzzlesSample

Wisdom that comes from Heaven

I want to explore what it means to be truly wise in our relationships. “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” James 3:17 (NIV)

I will expand on each characteristic listed and use other Bible translations to compare the different words used. (NLT, ESV, NASB, NKJV, GNT, HCSB, NET) First of all: 

Pure - Is your heart cleaned up from your own sin?

Peace-loving, peaceable - Do you want to be right? Do you want to win the argument? Or do you want to make peace?      

Considerate, gentle - Are your words harsh or gentle? Are your facial expressions harsh or gentle?

Submissive, willing to yield to others, open to reason, sensible, accommodating, reasonable - Is it easy to talk to you? Are you open to another perspective? Are you willing to put the other person’s needs first?

Full of mercy - Are you willing to accept the consequences of what they did to you or do you still want them to be punished?

Full of good fruit, the fruit of good deeds - Do you have the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, self control (Gal 5:22-23)?

Impartial, shows no favoritism, unwavering, free from prejudice, without division, without judging - Are you fair?

Sincere, without hypocrisy, without pretense, genuine, not hypocritical - Are your expectations of them the same that you have for yourself?

Response: 

Do the thoughts you have about this conflict meet these criteria for wisdom?