The Sage

Lest you think I’m referring to the tasty green herb used so often in holiday meal prep . . .  

I’m not.

I’m talking about the wise, distinguished soul who seems to exude perception and sound judgment—the one who is composed, thoughtful, and prudent and offers the simplest, and yet, most unbelievably profound, wisdom with clarity and confidence.

That, my friends, is a sage.

To be a sage is to be deeply connected to wisdom. In fact, one of the definitions of a sage, according to Merriam-Webster, is “one (such as a profound philosopher) distinguished for wisdom.” This is why we talk about certain wise and knowledgeable people as being sage-like. They are able to apply wisdom and discernment to all areas of life, especially the difficult ones. And in doing so, they often show us an incredibly helpful way forward.

Let’s consider the letter of James. It’s written to believers scattered all over the ancient world. They’re all situated in various different cultures and contexts. They’re far from their home, living in foreign lands, eating foreign foods, and speaking a foreign language. And their faith and way of life is different from that of the people around them. Challenges and difficulties are unavoidable. So, James implores them to be sage-like in their daily living: 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” 

Notice, James is confident that God will hear the prayers of His people. He’s also confident that God will honor their desire for wisdom to rightly navigate their lives.

They just have to ask.

This goes for us, too. When we need wisdom to rightly navigate our lives, we should ask God for it. Then, we should turn to His Word—the Bible—to read, study, and meditate on the wisdom we find there. This is the proper framework for gathering and applying godly wisdom and discernment. This is how we learn to be like the biblical sages of old who trusted God completely and allowed Him to teach them what is wise and good.

Over the next several days, we’re going to tap into God’s wisdom and explore what it looks like to apply discernment to our life and work. To do this, we’ll look at four simplification questions we must all wrestle with:

1. Is there anything I can let go of?

2. Where is “good enough,” good enough?

3. What do I truly need to know?

4. What deserves my attention?

White Space Moment

Take some time right now to consider in which areas of your life you could use wisdom. Write them down. Begin praying daily that God will give you wisdom in these areas of your life.