James 3:17 says, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in Daniel chapter 5, we see a really extraordinary incident. King Belshazzar of Babylon did something to mock God while he was having a party. He brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem. He drank from them and praised his idols.
At that very moment, the fingers of a man’s hand suddenly emerged and began to write something on the wall of the king’s palace. After seeing this extraordinary event, the king was so shocked he trembled with fear. He said he would give a big reward to the person who could interpret the writing, but nobody could either read it or interpret it.
At that time, there were some people who thought of Daniel, who had received the wisdom of God. When Daniel was summoned, he was able to read that it was “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN,” and he was also able to explain what it meant. The meaning was that King Belshazzar acted arrogantly before God and treated God contemptuously. Because of it, his kingdom was to be handed over to the Medes and Persians. The king was satisfied with the interpretation and gave Daniel great rewards. He clothed him with purple and made him the third ruler in the kingdom.
But something is strange here. What would you have done if you were King Belshazzar? If you really believed what Daniel said, the primary concern would not be rewards, but to resolve the problem you faced. If you received the declaration of God concerning your impending destruction due to your arrogance, you might first consider the necessity of repenting thoroughly and changing.
But King Belshazzar considered it as though it was somebody else’s matter, and being satisfied with the interpretation, he just gave Daniel great rewards. He didn’t repent before God but kept on enjoying himself at the party. Daniel 5:30 says, “That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain.” On that very night, he was killed by the enemy forces as God had said.
God warned him in advance through such an extraordinary incident, and Daniel explained it to him with wisdom, but what was the use of it? Because the king did not apply the wisdom to himself, he could not derive any benefit from it. He was happy hearing the wisdom, but in the end he went the way of the foolish.
There are many people who are like him even today. They like listening to stories of wisdom. They read many books and try to stay close to those who are wise. Even in faith, when they hear about God’s wisdom or the spiritual realm, they rejoice in hearing the truth. But some are very slow to apply that truth to themselves and slow in changing themselves.
Even though you rejoice listening to the Word very much, you cannot really make it completely yours just by listening. We cannot gain wisdom by knowing the truth as knowledge. To truly gain wisdom, we have to accept it in our hearts, practice it, and then change ourselves accordingly.
In the morning service, you heard about the family of Cornelius, but will all your families become like his family simply because you heard about it? Of course, it can happen, but not just by hearing about it. You have to try, change yourself, and change your surroundings with good wisdom. Then your family members and people around you can also come into the grace of God through you.
The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and reasonable. Reasonableness is when the good and beautiful qualities of the heart are shown as good fruits in words and deeds. Those who cultivate reasonableness will not just obey the Word of God, but will seek to do more than what is required.
When we see the deeds and confessions of the apostle Paul, we can see this kind of reasonableness. Even before he knew the Lord, he was zealous for the Law of God. After he met the Lord, he devoted himself to the gospel and willingly gave up even things that he could legitimately enjoy for the sake of others.
1 Corinthians 8:13 says, “Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.”
Paul said this while addressing the question of eating meat that had been offered to idols. At that time, there was much idolatry in Corinth, and meat that had been offered to idols was often sold in the markets.
Suppose a believer bought some meat from the market and ate it, and the meat had previously been offered to an idol. Would this necessarily be unacceptable to God? If the believer knew that it had been offered to idols, it might be better not to eat it for the sake of conscience and others. But if he did not know its origin and simply ate it as food, he was not thereby participating in idolatry.
1 Timothy 4:4–5 says, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”
But those who had weak faith might have been troubled by eating what had once been offered to idols. Also, when they saw another believer eating such food, they might misunderstand and think, “He is a believer, so how can he do that?” Or they might think, “If a mature believer can eat food sacrificed to idols, then I can eat it too,” even though their own conscience was troubled.
The problem arises when a person has doubts in his conscience but still goes ahead and eats. Romans 14:23 says, “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.”
If we repeatedly do something while believing in our conscience that we should not do it, our conscience may also become dull. Because Paul understood these things, he did not insist on his own freedom merely because he had faith. He was willing to give up even something lawful if exercising that freedom could cause another believer to stumble.
Likewise, Paul had freedom, but he willingly gave up many things for the gospel and for other souls. This is an important aspect of spiritual wisdom. If we cultivate gentleness and reasonableness, we can discern the will of God more clearly even when the situation is complicated.
At the time of the early church, the gospel was spreading, but believers faced many practical questions about how to apply their faith in daily life. There were questions not only about food sacrificed to idols, but also about marriage, family relationships, spiritual gifts, worship, and the Lord’s Supper. Paul gave practical answers to these questions according to the gospel and the principles of God’s Word.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you too sometimes give up something you could legitimately enjoy for the sake of the gospel or for another person. You try to act according to the truth, and when your neighbors know that you are a believer, you may become even more careful about your conduct. You do not want others to say, “Why would a believer act that way?”
Even when you are in a position to point out another person’s fault, sometimes you choose to smile and not mention it. When you are trying to evangelize a shop owner in your neighborhood, you might intentionally buy something from that shop even though it costs a little more than somewhere else. This can be considered an aspect of reasonableness.
But if reasonableness itself is cultivated in your heart, you will choose goodness not only when you are trying to evangelize someone. You will not do good because of an ulterior motive, thinking, “If I do this, I will gain something, and this person will respond favorably to me.” Rather, good words and deeds will naturally come from the goodness that fills your heart.
Pastors and leaders especially need this kind of reasonableness because they should set a good example before others. Sometimes they may voluntarily give up something that is not sinful because they consider how their behavior could affect believers who are weaker in faith.
This does not mean being hypocritical or merely appearing holy on the outside. The point is that Christian freedom should be exercised together with love and consideration for others. Paul expresses this principle clearly in 1 Corinthians 9:27: “But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
Paul had great confidence in the gospel, but that confidence did not lead him to live carelessly. He disciplined himself and continually considered whether his conduct was consistent with what he preached.
I hope you will be able to enjoy freedom in the truth while still always looking back upon yourself. Even if you think you are acting in faith and truth, it can be beneficial to examine yourself once again. Ask yourself before God, “Is this really right? Am I choosing what is more pleasing to God?”
When you humble yourself before God in this way, examine yourself, and choose what is more pleasing in His sight, you can grow toward greater maturity.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if you abstain from things that you are free to do for the benefit of others, sometimes it may seem that you are placing unnecessary restrictions on yourself. Of course, believers grow according to their measure of faith, and spiritual maturity does not happen all at once.
But when you willingly give up something you could legitimately enjoy because you want to please God and benefit others, this can be true wisdom. To the extent that selfish motives disappear from our hearts, we can discern situations more clearly and choose what is good.
Matthew 19:29 says, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”
God does not overlook sacrifices made sincerely for Christ and His kingdom. Therefore, do not look only at the immediate advantage or loss before your eyes. Look toward what is eternal and seek the things that truly have value before God.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become truly wise people who seek the wisdom from above and receive the true blessings that come from walking in God’s ways. Amen.