Dr. Conway Edwards, Lead Pastor
Bible References: James 3:13-18
What we say is a reflection of what’s in our heart, therefore we must constantly guard and protect it because it reflects how we relate to others. Our behavior and speech demonstrates our wisdom. Our actions and words must match; saying we are believers of Christ is not enough, we must show it through our daily interactions – how we treat others. Each interaction is our opportunity to model what we see and find in Jesus.
There are two kinds of wisdom; when we reach a decisional fork in the road we consider two paths – wisdom from above, Christ centered, or earthly wisdom, self-promoting. We make this choice daily with every conversation and situation. Every relationship you have affects your heart and how you interact with others, so every time someone hurts us, lies to us or about us, it is internalized and then reflected in our future relationships. God wants to give us heavenly wisdom to guard against hurts, heartaches, jealousies, and greed. This is why it is important to guard and monitor our heart.
Christ provided a model for true spirituality, which we can step into when we accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior. Our acceptance of Jesus Christ makes us righteous, there isn’t anything we can physically do to earn salvation. He is our salvation. Once accepted, Jesus will radically change our heart and the way we interact and make decisions; God’s purpose for our life will become our ambition. He will give us the heart to serve Him above everything. Christ’s first connection with us was through our heart.
Identifying Heart Issues
What’s in our heart’s desires – shopping, having a great car, promotion and praise at work? We can rest assured that we have a heart issue if we are more excited about earthly things than God’s heavenly kingdom or we choose God when it’s convenient. To be all in for God means He is first, regardless of convenience or popularity. Our ambitions and heart’s desires will center on Him. We will chase Him relentlessly because we know how much He loves us. To attain and maintain a whole Christ-centered heart, we must monitor it vigilantly so we’re ready to make wise choices when God removes or adds to our lives.
How Wise Are You?
Ready to grow? Ask someone you trust to rank your wisdom. Make it safe for them to help you grow by sharing that you really want to know how you show up in these seven areas on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is more focused on earthly and self serving interests and 5 is focused on more spiritual, Christ centered interests – things that benefit others. Then choose one area to continue developing and strengthening so you can attain and maintain a wise God centered heart.
- Wisdom – Before a person can experience true wisdom from above, s/he must first start with purity. Pure means “not polluted” with worldly desires. We want what God wants.
How often do your actions show the world you want what God wants? - Peaceable – A person who will not antagonize someone to anger. Their focus is to bring peace to a situation rather than provoke a fight.
Are you more interested in sharing your opinion without hearing the other person’s heart? Do your actions create confusion, disharmony, and/or tension? - Gentle – Considerate. It’s more important to be mindful of how others feel. It would be unthinkable to minimize another’s feelings.
How mindful are you of other’s feelings? - Reasonable – A person who can learn from anyone, won’t be defensive, is open to reason, and willing to listen.
Would others say they’ve seen when you respectfully held a strong position but when new facts came to light you were open and maybe even changed positions? - Full of Mercy – Mercy is kindness or good will towards those we perceive as “miserable or afflicted”(i.e. I won’t emphasize your mistakes).
Do you make people the butt of your jokes? Do people regularly hear about their mistakes? - Without Hypocrisy – (Proverbs 28:13) Is a willingness to be vulnerable, to share their weaknesses. This person recognizes that striving for perfection starts with making Christ the center of his/her life.
Do others see you using your God given talents and gifts for His service? Do you model Christ like behaviors? - Righteousness – We’ve achieved this through our acceptance of and steadfast pursuit of Christ. It’s when we identify our heart’s desire and if it isn’t Christ we fast and abstain from it so we can remain resolute and focused on making God the center of our universe, our passion.
Would others say you are a passionate follower of Christ based on their interactions with you?