Rear End Wisdom: A Two-James Story

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; 

then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, 

full of mercy and good fruit, 

impartial and sincere. 

James 3:17

Many things boggle me.

Math for one.  In fact I’m convinced that the part of my brain that does math died in grade four.   No math problem is too easy for me to figure out.  Makes me profoundly grateful for calculators, on line conversion charts, and a husband with an Honours Math degree.

Bridge for another.  I mean the card game.  Never caught on to that, despite my husband’s desperate coaching from across the table, and my in-laws’ dearest hopes that we could make a go of it.  Probably had to do with the math.

And then there’s computers.  How is it that I can be offline, up at the cottage where the connections are terrible even when I’m trying to be online, and yet, while in the midst of writing an important letter that needs to be oh-so-delicately worded, my computer, of its own free will, informs me that it’s shutting down so it can ‘upgrade’?  Who’s doing that?  Where are the upgrades even coming from if I’m offline?   And so, with boggled mind, I am held captive by unseen forces and compelled to rewrite that delicate letter!

One more.  Scheduling.  Particularly at this time of year, September, when everything’s getting back into gear.  You’ve got so many different moving parts, different family members, team members, all spinning around their own calendar orbits, and somehow you’ve got to make it all map out in a doable dance.  There’s quantum physics and there’s scheduling.  Like that.

Yes, these and many things boggle my mind.

But still, somewhere inside of me, I long to be wise.

This makes me very glad that being smart and being wise aren’t the same things. 

Not at all.

I confess to you these personal mind-bogglers at great risk.   Because I know that they make me look stupid and, just like everyone, I don’t really want to look stupid.  I want you to think of me as smart, or at least smart enough.  I know this is true of me because otherwise why would I sometime use big words I know I’ll have to explain, or mention that I’m working on my MDiv even when the conversation does not in any way require it, or talk about all the research I’m doing at the moment on the topic I’ve just worked cleverly into the conversation?  And you can be sure I’ll steer clear of anything in a social setting that requires math!  It’s called ‘image management’ and we do it all the time.  Maybe not about being smart, but about being popular or athletic or accomplished or special in any way that helps us look good in the eyes of whomever we might be with at the time. 

And right now I need to apologize because if ‘image management’ is something you haven’t heard about before and don’t think applies to you, in the next few days you’ll catch yourself doing it.  Sorry about that.  But we all do it.  It’s part of being human and needing to belong.

But it’s not smart.  It’s not even wise.

Purity.  That’s wise.  And loving peace.  That’s wise.  So is being considerate, and being submissive.  Wait.  Being submissive?  Wise?   Apparently so.  Right along with being full of mercy, and full of the demonstration of the good fruit (reminds us of the fruit of the Spirit perhaps – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, that fruit) of a life well lived.   And it’s wise to be impartial.  And it’s wise to be sincere.

At least according to James.  He’s comparing a ‘wisdom’ that’s full of envy and selfish ambition, and dare I say ‘image management’, to the kind of wisdom that comes ‘from heaven’, from God’s heart.

I know a whole lot of people who don’t necessarily have a lot of education, and aren’t particularly athletic, and may or may not have fashion sense.  They might not even be all that articulate come to think of it.  But if James’ list is accurate, they’ve got truck loads of wisdom.

Reminds me of another James. 

He stopped to make sure I was all right after watching me be rear-ended on a divided roadway.  I was fully stopped and the person behind me was distracted and ran into me at full speed of 60 km or more. 

James didn’t need to stop.  It was a divided roadway and he was completely unaffected by the accident.  But he pulled over and approached my car and talked me through that first hour while the police arrived and then my husband.  He was the first to speak to me, telling me he’d had a similar accident himself and instructing me not to move my neck at all until I could be assessed.  He called 911.  He dug out my phone from my purse and helped me dial my husband.  He kept me engaged in light conversation to assess my initial cognitive function and keep me calm. 

He was from Newfoundland, he told me, and a few other introductory facts about himself I don’t remember.  He even mercifully lied to me when I asked him to walk around the van to estimate the damage.  Ultimately the van was totalled, with the sliding side door pushed up far enough to prevent the passenger side front door from opening.  “You’ve got a bit of bumper work” was what he told me. 

And then he disappeared.  Ken arrived, the police had all the information, I was heading to the hospital to be checked out.  I know I said thank you.  But I didn’t have the presence of mind to get his information.   But I kept my neck stable, and later, with the additional help of the emergency doctor and my massage therapist, I made a full recovery from what could have been a significant, life-impacting whiplash. 

What a wise man, that James!  And I’m grateful, and if you’re out there and you recognize yourself, please know that I deeply appreciate your wisdom that day.  In purity you approached with no thought of any benefit to yourself at all.  You kept me calm and peaceful.  You were so considerate, and you completely cooperated with the police when they came, and went over to inquire about the other driver on my behalf when I asked you to.  Your actions were full of mercy and the fruit of a life lived well.  You did not take sides in the cause of the accident, that wasn’t at all in your spirit.  Just there to help me.  And I remember you as being just a kind and sincere man, James.  Thank you so much.

I long to be wise. 

That kind of wise. 

So boggle my mind with quantum physics. 

So be the mysteries of the universe. 

But it’s actually really quite simple to be wise like James. 

Both of them.