God’s Wisdom over Earthly Wisdom

Week 8, Wednesday

Charlotte Akin

This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. James 3:15 (nkjv)

When our boys were young we would go to Forest Park, Georgia, and stay with my husband Danny’s parents every Christmas. We would stay for almost two weeks because Danny was a professor and he and the boys would be on Christmas break. We had a wonderful time visiting with both sides of the family and we looked forward to this special time every year.

We have four sons, twins Nathan and Jonathan, Paul, and Timothy. The older our sons grew, the less time we got to spend in Georgia. Our sons all played basketball in middle school and high school. Every year they would have to be at practice on December 26 for a tournament that would last for two to three days. So we would always start the drive home from Georgia on Christmas Day.

On the road, Danny and the guys would play a game they called “the driving time game.” Each year the driving time to get back home had to beat that of the year before. Even if the time difference was just five minutes faster, they thought they were kings of the road. One year after we had left Danny’s parents’ house I realized that I had left my purse at their house. We had left only about thirty minutes before, so I asked Danny to drive back to the house so we could get my purse. He took a vote with all the guys and they decided we could not do it because it would set us back on the “driving game.”

Oh, girlfriends, I went crazy! I cried and cried and told them that I hated them all. I tried to explain how my purse had everything in it that I needed to survive. I could not live without it!

Over the years I have looked back on this experience and realized how badly I tried to plead my case. My wisdom and logic were completely earthly. It may have even been demonic. I was not focused on the spiritual or godly; instead, I was focused on the earthly. I cared only about my feelings and what I wanted. This was self-centered and I created a destructive atmosphere for everyone in the van that day. I should have acted in a Christlike manner. We all know that a sweeter, calmer manner gets better results than a harsh and bossy one.

Dear Father, may I honor You in all my ways as I grow in heavenly wisdom. Amen.