Wisdom Part 7
Without Partiality
| James 3:17 | But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. |
The Greek word for Partiality is: adiakritos meaning, impartial: or not making a distinction. It comes from a root word which means to be Double Minded.
This quality is a part of the nature of God, God is not double minded He is no respecter of persons. The fruit of partiality is, Biased Favor.
| Acts 10:34 | Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: |
God has no favorites, however He does have those who find favor with Him.
This statement is not contradictory, as there are rewards for obedience, perseverance, and whole heart devotion to God. Gods love towards us is constant; the level of our walk and intimacy with him is conditional.
Partiality arises out of two basic human conditions
1) Self Will: A disposition towards what we want.
2) Uncertainty: Confusion the in ability to make a decision.
These two conditions or attitudes will cause you to muddy the flow or stream of God’s wisdom to you and subsequently through you.
The partiality of the disciples.
| Mark 10:46 | And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. |
| 47 | And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. |
| 48 | And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. |
| 49 | And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. |
The partiality the disciples showed would have prevented the man receiving his healing.
If you are undecided on anything you will tend to become partial to what pleases you.
We must have a passion for purity of soul that does not hinder the flow of wisdom through us.
Double mindedness
| James 1:5 | If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. |
| 6 | But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. |
| 7 | For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. |
| 8 | A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. |
Double Minded; means to be of two minds, the result of this is instability in all our ways.
Hearing and Doing is the passport to spiritual growth
The scriptures God Word, is impartial, it never changes and is our standard of truth and behavior. Our obedience to the scriptures and the word of the Lord to us is the only means of stability we have, there can be no double mindedness is this. Wisdom comes from God, His word and His nature.
| Proverbs 4:5 | Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. |
Gods Word is the final authority in our live and we cannot waver or become double minded about God’s requirement for us as written in His Word.
| Proverbs 4:25 | Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. |
| 26 | Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. |
| 27 | Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. |
Gods word is truth don’t depart from it.
| Proverbs 1:1 | The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; |
| 2 | To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; |
| 3 | To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; |
| 7 | The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. |
The fear of the Lord: is the beginning of wisdom. This fear comes with an understanding that He God is no respecter of persons, truth is truth, right is right and wrong is wrong, and the consequences of disobedience apply to all. You cannot be double minded over God’s word.
Double Mindedness and Faith
| James 1:6 | But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. |
| 7 | For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. |
Faith spells Risk: This is a dichotomy, often when you obey God and move in faith you are taking a risk, not is the sense that God is ever wrong or will let you down when you obey him, the risk is in your mind. A battle rages in the natural mind when one begins to follow the Lord in faith.
I had a friend in the early 70s who was a real man of faith in God. One day when ministering away from home he was staying in a motel which had a swimming pool just outside his motel door. He had been preparing all day for the evening service and was really fired up.
He kept looking at the pool and thinking if Peter walked on the water he could, finally about 20 minutes before he had to leave for the meeting, he strode out of the motel door and walked strait into the pool.
While at the bottom of the pool in his suit and tie, he said Lord what am I doing down here, the Lord replied while I appreciated the risk you took, I did not tell you to walk on the water.
There will always be some element of risk in our walk with the Lord, the risk of getting it right, faith requires obedience to the word of the Lord but a battle will rage in our minds and our will.
However once you have decided to obey, double mindedness is not an option. The process of hearing and obeying is a learning curve, if we get it wrong it won’t mean the end of the world, the sun will still rise tomorrow. Hearing and obeying is a tricky business but; the Lord knows beforehand which way it will go, if you get it wrong the Lord has already compensated for it, it wont change your destiny. Being steadfast in God is an important quality.
| Mark 11:23 | For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. |
| 24 | Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. |
To doubt in your heart is to doubt with your imaginations, this is where the battle is, however you have to stick with what you believe God gave you and embark on a learning curve of getting it right.
It is better to believe and not receive than to doubt and not receive. Trial and error is the process of learning and you learn more from your mistakes than you do from getting it right.
God wants to eradicate double-mindedness from us as it will always tends to the no risk factor in our lives, it will always play to our fears and insecurities bringing instability into our lives and families.
The ability to make decisions in all humility is a mark of maturity, eventually you will get it right more than wrong, and if you are about to make a major mistake in all sincerity you must trust God to take control of it. I am not talking about being impulsive, but having faith and courage to trust God.
The wisdom that comes from above is without partiality it is based in the unalterable word of God.
God Bless you
Neville Johnson © March 2006
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