James 3:13 - "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom."

Thoughts on today's verse:


There was a story in the news a few months ago about a woman who had claimed to be a soldier with the U.S. Army. She made quite a claim and probably took quite a bit of time coming up with her story so that she could furnish the details when people from her small hometown would ask her about her time in service. You see, she wasn't really a soldier with the U.S. Army. She had never gone to boot camp, never been to a recruiter, and the military had no record of her. She made a big claim, but it was unsubstantiated!

Here James is telling the believers that there may be some among them who are making spiritual claims, that is, to be wise and understanding, to have knowledge of the Scriptures. However, he said that the true test of one claiming to be wise and understanding would not just be in the claim, or the ability to parse verses and recite whole sections of Scripture, but rather the test of the actual fruit of the life of that person!

The truly wise and understanding Christian will be marked with good conduct performed in the meekness of wisdom. So the truly wise one won't have to say it at all, for their life will manifest it and, as Solomon said in Proverbs 27:2 - Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips."