Discernment in 2021: Looking for Wisdom

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As we see in passages such as Hebrews 5:14, biblical discernment involves exercising the skill of seeing the differences between good vs. bad, right vs. wrong, true vs. false, and more important vs. less important.

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (ESV, Heb 5:14)

But growth in discernment requires more than understanding what it is. Christians also need a heart that hungers for discernment and experience taking practical steps to use it in today’s world.

To put it another way, teaching discernment requires plenty of attention to Scripture—which always feeds both intellect and affections in anyone who is spiritually alive—and plenty of attention to application.

My goal in this post is to feed heart and mind through attention to Scripture. In this case, though, application is pretty built-in also, because a huge part of exercising discernment consists of habitually seeking what Scripture calls wisdom.

Habitually Seeking

Is it enough to pray for wisdom and trust God that we’ll have it when we need it? Consider three facts:

• We’re told to pray for wisdom and expect it to be granted: James 1:5 (See also Prov. 3:5-6.)
• We’re told the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth: John 16:13, Luke 12:11-12
• We’re told that wisdom is in Christ: Colossians 2:3

If we take these passages in isolation, we could easily think that, apart from prayer, our relationship with wisdom is passive. But these passages aren’t all Scripture offers on the topic.

• Proverbs 2:1-5 uses prayer-like language in reference to wisdom (be attentive, incline your heart, call out, raise your voice) but also uses action language (seek, search; see also Prov 8:17).
• Proverbs calls us to seek wisdom from wise people (Prov 4:20, 20:18, 13:10) to listen for it in public discourse (Prov 12:20, 8:1-2) and to derive it through observation and reflection (Prov 24:32, 20:5, 4:26).

Rightly understood, the passive-sounding passages fully agree with the more active-sounding ones. They teach us that the Christian relationship to gaining wisdom has three parts:

• Prayer
• Due diligence
• Trust

Relying on God has always included using the means He provides. Think Elijah accepting aid from ravens and the Israelites under Joseph accepting aid from the government. So, the due diligence piece means we take full advantage of God’s generous providence.

We’re to strive to “take every thought captive” (2 Cor 10:5), “prepare our minds for action” (1 Pet 1:13), and be “sober-minded” and “watchful” (1 Pet 5:8), but not with a “spirit of fear” (1 Tim. 1:7). We’re called to be hard-working but confident seekers of wisdom.

What Wisdom Looks Like: 8 Marks

With that responsibility in mind, James 3:17 provides 8 marks of real wisdom.

1. It’s pure.

The word derives from hagios, meaning holy. In the context, James associates “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” with a false wisdom that is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” and associated with “disorder and every vile practice” (Jm 3:14-16). So “pure” here emphasizes real wisdom’s relationship to God and its character as “from above.”

Wisdom that is holy in this sense has an other-worldly quality to it, an excellence that rises above the din. It’s not tawdry, sordid, crude, or crass.

2. It’s peaceable.

“Peace-loving” is the idea here (NIV, CSB, NASB20). True wisdom isn’t interested in conflict for conflict’s sake. It isn’t hungry for the kind of hostility and fighting James rejects in 3:14. Rather, it actively looks for ways to spread peace, in the spirit of Romans 12:18.

3. It’s gentle.

­­­In Titus 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:3, the term epieikes is in contrast to quarreling and violence. In Philippians 4:5, KJV has it as “moderation,” and most others as “reasonableness.” Gentleness doesn’t mean spinelessness. It does mean restrained and measured. If the rhetoric is wildly exaggerated, reactionary, and alarmist, it’s not wisdom.

4. It’s reasonable.

James’ word is eupeithes, and it occurs only here in the NT. Arndt, et al., understand it to mean “obedient, compliant,”¹ along the lines of NKJV’s “willing to yield,” NIV’s “submissive,” and CSB’s “compliant.” Louw and Nida land closer to KJV’s “easy to be intreated, ” NASB’s “reasonable” and ESV’s “open to reason.”²

Both interpretations include a measure of flexibility. Wisdom recognizes that the truth is often complex, and that views are often partly right and partly wrong. Wisdom also recognizes that when we’re outside the realm of “Thus says the Lord,” even long-held, emotionally-charged beliefs we’re deeply vested in can turn out to be wrong.

5. It’s full of mercy.

The implication here is that real wisdom is kind, and generous with forgiveness. “Mercy” (eleos) occurs 27 times in the NT. Among the more than 200 occurrences in the Greek version of the OT (the Septuagint or “LXX”), 193 render the Hebrew chesed—arguably the most beautiful word in biblical Hebrew! The idea is faithful, loyal love in the form of blessing—often toward those who have earned the opposite.

He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love [chesed] of the Lord. (Ps 33:5)

Wisdom’s affinity with mercy means it isn’t in a hurry to judge harshly and severely.

6. It has good outcomes.

Wisdom is “full of … good fruits.” Though it’s accurate to say “wisdom works,” the term “good” here (agathos) isn’t an effectiveness/success word. It’s a virtue word. James uses it in 1:17 of “every good gift” being “from above” (see 3:17a).

Verse 18 elaborates and reconnects this wisdom to its peace-loving quality:

And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (Jas 3:18)

A mark of wise advice, wise analysis, wise opinion is that it increases good in the world.

7. It’s fair.

True wisdom doesn’t apply one standard to people we like and another to people we see as our enemies. It’s “impartial” (ESV, NET, NIV, NASB20; “without partiality” in KJV, NKJV). Some authorities take the word to mean “unwavering” (NASB95, CSB, BGAD), because it breaks down into something like “not judging different ways”—a + diakritos.

Helpfully, James uses the verb form of judging different ways in chapter 2 (translation in bold below).

and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (Jas 2:3–4)

Wisdom doesn’t change its evaluation of people and ideas based on irrelevant factors like being richer or more attractive or in a favored group.

8. It’s not phony.

James says wisdom is anupocritos. “Sincere” (ESV, NIV) is accurate, but the negative expression packs more punch: “without hypocrisy” (KJV, NKJV) or “free of hypocrisy” (NASB20), “without pretense” (CSB).

It’s easy to characterize all inconsistency as hypocrisy when we’re judging harshly. Still, the world is full of opinion leaders who feign loyalty to principles but evidently (if you look close) only see them as handy tools for clambering to greater heights of fame and power or handy clubs for bludgeoning competitors. They’re hypocrites. This is not where we’re likely to find wisdom.

Other than Scripture, does any source of advice or analysis have all eight of these qualities 100% of the time? Nope. But that’s not the point. We’re all looking for wisdom, whether we realize it or not, and the marks of true wisdom can help us narrow the field and increase the probability that we’re getting what we need—what God, providentially, wants us to find.