An Education in Wisdom

"Who is wise and understanding among you?

By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth" (James 3:13-14, ESV).

The ticket flapped in the window on my car windshield. Groan. After 15 minutes of trying without luck to find a parking space just before class, I finally found a spot in front of an off-campus house and booked it to class. Three hours later, I returned to find that I had parked in a hard-to-read handicap spot.

I moved the car and went to the campus hangout to wait for my next class. 

My stomach was tied up in knots. 

How was I going to tell my parents? I don't have the money to pay for it. I didn't park there on purpose. I don't deserve this.

"What's wrong?"

I looked up to see a fellow student who hung out regularly. I told him about the ticket, and he shrugged. "I have a whole pile of unpaid parking tickets. They can't do anything to you."

I decided to take his counsel and even managed to forget about the ticket.

"What's this?" 

Mom greeted me at the car when I got home a month later. She handed me a pink slip as I was getting my bookbag out of the car. 

The car is in their name! I should have remembered that. 

Now, the amount had doubled.

Mom scolded me and called my actions dishonest. I wish I could say that I accepted her harsh words, but I didn't. Instead, I slammed the car door. 

A door on an old blue station wagon whose window was already acting up. The window dislodged from its mechanism, making it impossible to roll up or down. Now, I had to pay for car repairs.

Looking back on that moment, I know that I recognized right from wrong, and yet I eagerly sought deception. Why?

• I didn't think I deserved the ticket. I admired others who got away with deception.
• As a result, I didn't apply wisdom.

I am surprised at the James passage. I didn't expect that the root of a lack of wisdom is bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. The James passage goes on to say, "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere (vs. 17). 

Wisdom isn't applying "smarts." Instead, it is the result of applying the fruits of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…against such things there is no law" Galatians 5:22-23

Ironic that obedience to God trumps the law - the very thing I was trying to get around. How different would that awful moment have been if I had accepted my mistake, paid the ticket, and prayed for whoever lived at the house and needed the handicapped spot? 

I am grateful for the discipline. I am grateful that God allows us to grow…in wisdom.

Questions for Reflection:

1. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where it seems that it would just be easier to not to be truthful? What was the result?

2. God allows us to grow in wisdom from our mistakes. How will you seek to make a better decision when this type of situation pops up again?