Wisdom That is Not Self-Serving

I got takeout Chinese food this week and I eagerly opened my fortune cookie to see what pearls of wisdom were in there.  This is what mine said.

I was Ralphie on "A Christmas Story" who infamously said "A Crummy Commercial?".  I paid good money for this Chinese food and this is what I got.  Someone must have run out of good ideas.

A lot of us think that God is too busy running the world that he has run out of time and wisdom. But James says that God gives to us "generously and without reproach" (1:5). In other words we can never ask him for too much wisdom and He never gives it grudgingly. God doesn't say "Oh here comes Dan - he is out of wisdom again" which happens often by the way.

Another interesting thing about this verse is it's placement. It comes right after the end of the verses talking about trials. Trials force us to abandon much thought that we have wisdom. Trials bring us to our "wits end" (Psalm 107:27). It is great to know that God does not leave us in trials but offers us His abundant wisdom.

As my kids got older, it is interesting that they finally got around to asking their mother and I for advice. As they approached the real world, they recognized that we had experiences and wisdom worth asking for. And we got a small glimpse of what it feels like to be God in dispensing wisdom. We were only too glad to help and that was a form of love. God will not leave us lacking.