I love a good quote.

Whenever one resonates with me, its like a lightbulb comes on in my head and I feel excited and inspired in the moment. I respond by pinning it and/or sharing it on social media. I savor the thought until my quiet time ends or is interrupted, then more often than not, I move on with my life as is. Unaffected and unchanged.

Today was different. This morning I read the Bible Verse of the Day and as my hand automatically moved to do this thing my mind has programmed it to do with quotes over the years—share on social media—I paused. The Bible is filled not only with inspiring quotes, but with lifesaving wisdom. James 3:13 tells us what it means to be wise, ‘If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with humility that comes from wisdom”. Wisdom is the truth that leads us to God and helps us to live for Him. Wisdom is found at the crossroads of knowledge and life application.

So wisdom found in the Bible is more than a ‘tweetable’ moment. It should inspire reflection and action on our part. I delved further into James 3 and found in verse 17 a picture of what God’s wisdom looks like—"pure [morally and spiritually undefiled], then peace-loving [courteous, considerate], gentle, reasonable [and willing to listen], full of compassion and good fruits. It is unwavering, without [self-righteous] hypocrisy [and self-serving guile]”.

Now don’t look at others and what they do. When I read these verses, that was my first instinct too but this is not meant to be a gauge to judge others. It is a rather a reminder to look inside ourselves, to examine our hearts, our motives and our own behavior. It is a call to prayer, to seek help from God, to seek understanding of His word and His ways, and help to conscientiously work on living up to His standards and the honorable life described in James 3:17.

St. Francis of Assisi said it best: “Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words.”

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