Moving Up In Wisdom

James 3:13-18 tells us there are two kinds of wisdom.  First, there is the wisdom that is of this world.  "This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic."  Living by this wisdom comes from a heart of bitterness, envy, and self-seeking.  It is a wisdom that springs out of comparison with others.  Comparison leads to bitterness, envy, and dissatisfaction.  It leads to strife, where every evil thing is possible.  "For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there."  God does not want us to live by this kind of wisdom.  This wisdom is ruled by the senses, our lusts, and gives the demonic realm a place in our lives.  We need to move away from this earthly wisdom to God's wisdom.  There is a wisdom that comes from heaven.  "But the wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy."  This wisdom is first of all pure.  It has pure motives and pure actions.  There is nothing dishonest or deceitful about this wisdom.  This wisdom is peaceable.  It does not produce turmoil or a troubled heart.  It brings peace into your situation.  It is gentle, not forceful or imposing itself on another.  It is willing to yield.  It is easily intreated, that is, it is easy to enter into a treaty with.  It is willing to listen so as to understand another person's point of view.  It seeks to see things from the other person's perspective.  It will move around to the other side of the table to view a problem from another viewpoint.  It is full of mercy and good fruits.  It is full of compassion and acts with tenderness and sensitivity to another.  It is without partiality, that is, it does not deal with favoritism or unfairly.  It has no hypocrisy, no hidden agendas, no ulterior motives, but is only transparent.  "Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."  NIV.  Sow peace into difficult relationships.  This wisdom makes us peacemakers, who sow in peace, and reap a harvest of righteousness.  This wisdom will make us into peacemakers, who will be called the children of God.

How can I move into God's wisdom today?