Happy Friday, everyone!

Have you ever heard the phrase, “The proof is in the pudding?”

The original proverb was actually, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” In other words, you had to taste it to know whether it was good.

Now, pudding wasn’t always the sweet dessert we think of today. Historically, it could be something more like a sausage, a meat, and maybe other ingredients all packed into an animal intestine.

So you really didn’t know if it was good until you ate it. If it came back up in a bad way, well, you had your answer.

The point was simple: The proof is revealed in the outcome.

It’s really an If/Then reasoning statement. If the food is good, then it won’t make you sick.

James gives us that same kind of If/Then test when it comes to wisdom. James 3:13 says, “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life. Doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.”

There’s the If … If you are wise and understand God’s ways.

Here’s the Then … Then prove it by the way you live.

James says wisdom isn’t proven by how much we know.

It isn’t proven by winning an argument.
It isn’t proven by having the right answer.

Wisdom is proven by what comes out of us, especially under pressure when we’re frustrated, when somebody disagrees with us, when things don’t go our way, when we could respond sharply but choose gentleness instead. When we could make it about us, but rather we choose humility and serve others.

That’s really the wisdom test at heart here.

If God’s wisdom is in us, then God’s wisdom should be visible through us.

Ultimately, we do see that wisdom perfectly in Jesus. Jesus didn’t just teach you, He lived it. He didn’t just teach mercy, He gave it. And He didn’t just teach peace, He became our peace.

So as we head in the weekend, here’s a good question to ask: “What’s coming out of me?” Because that’s where the wisdom test gets answered.

Prayer
Lord, help me this weekend. Help me not only to be aware of what You say, to be cognitive of what You say, but to actually live according to the way that You’ve designed and called us to live life. Forgive us for the times when we failed, when we have failed that wisdom test, and we have shown that we have followed another kind of wisdom, a worldly wisdom. And then bring to us that forgiveness and that renewal — that we might continue to reflect Your light, to be Your salt in a world that needs to see heavenly wisdom, a wisdom that goes far beyond anything that the world could provide. Do that amongst all of us this weekend so that again, Your name would be lifted up and glorified. And we pray this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Final Thought
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