reasonable, not defensive, not sensitive…

we are taking here on the front porch the  “am i wise?” test from james 3.17.  how are you doing?  are you honest, do you get along with others, and are you considerate with other’s feeling?   hold in there here is the next one.  james 3.17 (msg), it is…reasonable.

so, are you always critical?  if you are then you are not wise.  a wise person can learn from anybody.  they are not defensive.  they’re open to reason.  they’re not stubborn.  they are willing to listen and learn.  how are you doing on this one?

now this word is used only one time in the new testament.   the word, reasonable - willing to listen, willing to be open to ideas and suggestions.

the living bible says, it allows discussion  it’s easy to be entreated.  so are you a reasonable person?  can your kids reason with you?  how about those people at work?  the bible says if you’re wise, you’re reasonable, you’re opened to suggestions.

or are you, “hey, don’t confuse me with the facts.  i’ve made up my mind.  when i want your opinion, i’ll give it to you.” 

a wise person is not defensive.  most of us are way too sensitive, we are overly sensitive.  if somebody makes a suggestion we take it as a personal criticism and we’re defensive.  james says that’s dumb.  a wise person can learn from anybody.

a new pastor preaches his first sermon and then after it was over a guy walks up to him and says, “pastor, that sermon stunk”.  now the pastor tries to be reasonable and wise so he says, “what didn’t you like about it?”  the guy said, “well, in the first place you read it.  in the second place you read it poorly and in the third place it wasn’t worth reading in the first places.”  another guy walks up and says, “ pastor, don’t listen to old jim.  he just repeats what he hears everybody else say.”  that didn't help.

if you’re wise you’ll be open to suggestions.  don’t criticize, don’t get defensive.  proverbs 12.15 (msg), fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice.

if it’s true, listen and learn from it.  if it’s false, ignore it and forget it.  if i’m wise i’ll be open to reason.  i won’t criticize your suggestions, i’ll listen to them.

just a thought from the front porch…

how to make wise decisions…

in america, we love decisive leaders.  right now i am reading about one of these men.  howard schultz is the driving force behind starbucks and his book is called onward.  it is about some very difficult decisions that he had to make.

we think true decisive leaders are those who can make quick decisions.  but quickness is not a matter that's important.  it’s easier to make a fast decision than a good decision.  it takes nothing at all to make a quick decision.  it takes a lot of wisdom to be able to make a right decision. 

and the bible has a lot to say about decision making.  james 1.7-8 (tev), a person unable to make up his mind and undecided in all that he does, must not think he will receive anything from the LORD.  

the bible says that double mindedness is disastrous; indecision keeps you from GOD’s best.  it says don’t let that person think he’s going to receive anything from the LORD.  if i can’t make up my mind about what’s really important in life then i am limiting GOD and courting disaster, i will miss GOD’s best for my life and i will never grow in character.  our decisions determine our destiny.  our choices determine our character – whether it’s developed or destroyed. 

the bible is full of examples of the effect of wise decisions.  i want to illustrate the importance of decision making because we tend to make decisions very frivolously.  and then i want to give you a biblical, simple, workable plan on how to make biblical decisions.  whether it’s career, marriage, finances, health, children, future, there are principles in GOD’s word on how to make wise decisions. 

so how do you make wise decisions?  well for one you start by praying for guidance.  before you do anything else, get GOD’s perspective on the issue.  proverbs 28.26 (tlb), a man is a fool to trust himself.  but those who use GOD’s wisdom are safe. 

how many of you ever made a stupid decision but when you made it, thought it was the best thing to do?  we all get impressions – but they are just that, impressions.  they are not from GOD, they are from what you ate last night – ideas that pop into your mind.  you need something greater than simply intuition, gut feeling, “i think”.  you need absolute truth on which to base your decisions.  you need GOD’s guidance.  colossians 3.15 (tev), the peace that CHRIST gives is to guide you in the decisions you make. 

ask:  what does GOD want?  not, what do i want?

just a thought from the front porch…

wise but foolish…

another thing we know about the wise men is they were wiser than the men of the world.

matthew records that the wise men ended up in jerusalem. i guess it was the most logical place - the center of judaism - the temple of GOD - the high priests of GOD, and of course, the palace of herod the king. “if anybody would know of the birth of a new-born king it would be the present king - right?” wrong!

they went to king herod & asked their questions. matthew 2.2 (msg), where can we find and pay homage to the newborn KING of the jews? we observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled HIS birth. we're on pilgrimage to worship HIM.

but king herod knew nothing about it. he should have known. he was familiar with the o.t. prophets. herod should have had answers to all their questions - but he did not.

but the most amazing thing of all was that when herod finally had the answers, his decision was to try to kill the MESSIAH of GOD. matthew 2.16 (nlt) says, he sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.

incredible! he was like a child standing before a locomotive and saying, “stop!” or like a man standing before a hurricane and saying, “stop blowing!”

you cannot stop GOD! you cannot stop HIS MESSIAH! king herod, of all people, should have been first in line to worship JESUS. yet, he tried to kill JESUS, to stop GOD’s program.

herod was a wise man in the eyes of the world. herod had the glory, the power, the accolades of the world as king - but he was a fool.

herod summoned the chief priests. they were wise men. they knew the scriptures. they had read what the prophets had to say. they knew the prophecies backwards & forwards, & when they were asked about the new born KING they answered without hesitation, matthew 2.5 (cev), HE will be born in bethlehem!

they knew it! they had it memorized. yet, even though they knew it, they didn’t bother to go and find out if it were true. they were wise men in the eyes of the world - but they were fools!

just a thought from the front porch…

do you want to be wise or appear wise?…

there’s another way we can give preference to others. that’s by doing more listening than talking. james 1.19 (niv) says, be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. we get those first two reversed. we are slow to listen, quick to speak.

another practical way you can practice humility is to practice learning from others.

a major component of humility is teachability, being willing to listen and willing to learn, willing to grow, open to suggestions and corrections from other people. you don’t think you know it all. you don’t act like you know it all.

why should you do that? there are two or three really good reasons.

one, you’ll be more likable. the bible says in proverbs 15.12 (tev), conceited people do not like to be corrected. they never ask for advice.

again, pride, at its root, is insecurity. “i’m afraid that i’ll show that i really don’t know much.”

do you enjoy being around arrogant people? of course not. they’re irritating. they’re a pain in the blessed assurance. one of the things humility does is it makes you more likable.

two, you’ll be wiser if you’re open to the correction of other people. proverbs 15.32 (nlt) says, if you reject criticism you only harm yourself. but if you listen to correction you grow in understanding.

humble people are always learning because they’re open to correction. everybody’s ignorant, just on different subjects. you know some things that i don’t know, and i know some things that maybe you don’t know. we all come from different backgrounds.

that’s why two heads are better than one and it’s wise to learn from the experience of others. you don’t have time in life to learn everything from personal experience. the way to do that is by learning to ask questions. the only way to learn to ask questions is if you’re humble, if you’re open.

you’ve got to decide in life whether you want to be wise or appear wise. whether you want to be smart or appear smart. if you want to appear smart, then you can’t ever let on that you don’t know, so you always have to boast your way through situations and you never do really learn anything.

just a thought from the front porch…

a weak or wise person?...

ecclesiastes 5.4 (ncv), if you make a promise to GOD don’t be slow to keep it. GOD is not happy with fools, so give GOD what you promised.

what commitments have you made to GOD that you have failed to follow through on? read your bible every day? tithe? join a church? get involved in small group? find a ministry? share with your neighbors about CHRIST?

what commitments have you made to CHRIST (GOD) that you’ve let slack off. this is a test of your character and your faith.

ecclesiastes 8.5 (lb), the wise man will find a time and a way to do what he says.

the wise person figures out a way to keep his or her commitments. the weak person cops out. the weak person says, “i made that commitment but i’m going to blow it off. i made that commitment back then but i’m not going to follow through on that one. i didn’t really mean it. times/circumstances have changed.”

weak people give excuses. wise people find the time and way to do what they say they will do. do you want to be a weak person or do you want to be a wise person? this is a test. it’s a test of the kind of character you’re going to develop.

this is one of the major faults in our society today. people give up in the test before hanging in there to make it through. they give up too soon.

people have one little marriage problem: “i can’t handle this. i don’t deserve this. i’ve got to get out of this relationship.” and they walk just because they have a tough time. “i can’t afford to tithe. i’m in financial pressure.” so they walk out on that commitment. “i can’t afford to do the right thing in the business because if i do the right thing i will lose my job.” this is a test. it’s a test of your character and a test of your faith.

the bible says in psalm 15 that GOD blesses the person who keeps his vows even when it hurts. that’s the kind of person GOD blesses and it’s a test.

just a thought from the front porch…