Living Wisely or Foolishly - Part 2

Dr. Charles Stanley: One thing we need to instruct our children is to ask that question, what is the wise thing to do? Not what is everybody else doing? What's the wisest thing to do? In other words, what does God see on the basis of His omniscience of knowing everything, omnipotence having all power, omnipresence being in the He's in the middle of everything you're dealing with. The question is, what is the wisest thing to do?
Guest (Male): You have a decision to make, and you have several options. Each one looks equally viable. How do you know which is the right choice? Welcome to In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. Today's lesson from the New Testament book of James will help you see whether you're currently living wisely or foolishly, as you learn how to develop the skill of good decision-making. Let's listen in to Dr. Stanley's message.
Dr. Charles Stanley: What place does God have in your decision-making process? Before you make any decision, you should always ask this question. Is this the wisest thing to do? Whether it's major or minor. Is this the wisest thing to do? Wisdom is a gift from God. Living unwisely is a very expensive lifestyle in every aspect of our life. Now I want you to think about this for a moment. There are two different kinds of wisdom. There's the wisdom of God, and there's the wisdom that comes through man's thinking. And I want you to turn, if you will, to James. Over to James and I want you to look at this passage here in James. People who live foolishly, and what they're doing, here's what they do. And many people would be happy to have, listen to have position, intellect, talent, and possessions. Well if I have a high position, I think I'm smart, and I think I'm talented, and I have plenty of money. What else do you need in life? Let me ask you a question. If you have all four of those, and you're recognized with all four of those, is it going to get you to heaven? No. Is it going to give you peace in your heart? No. You see, the wisdom of the world, this is the wisdom of the world. This is what causes people to be arrogant. I can handle it. And they look at their possessions, their talent, their skills, their intellect, and all of this and they think, well, I can handle anything life throws. No, they can't. But that's the foolish way to live. That's the unwise way. And so, when James speaks here in this third chapter, in verse 13, he asked this question, in similar to what Paul asked, "Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior, his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, and demonic." Now I want you to think about this for a moment. He says, it is earthly, natural, and demonic. Now, what does he mean by that? He means by earthly, that it's limited to what man can do. It's limited to man's reasoning and his thinking and his attempts and his accomplishments in life. That's how limited that is. Well, listen, how smart is man today? We might be able to invent things and go to the moon and this that and the other, but can't get along with each other. And so we can think about all the things that man's wisdom and his knowledge and understanding without God can create, he can't do anything without God. It's earthly. So that's one part of wisdom. And then secondly, he says, it is natural. That is we all have a naturalness in us. That is, that part of us that does not want to obey God. That part of us that is subject to temptation, that part of us that desires our will and our way. You may not yield to it, but all of us have that naturalness in us. Some people call it a sin nature. Call it what you want to, but all of us have it. And so, he says, those who are walking unwisely, their wisdom is earthly, they don't get anywhere. And secondly, it's natural, it's sensual. It relates to the fallen nature. And if you recall, in First Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14, he says, "But a natural man doesn't accept the things of the Spirit of God. They're foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them because they're spiritually appraised." So you get in a discussion with somebody who doesn't believe what you believe about the Lord Jesus Christ, the God, the holy things. And you know what? We say, well, why can't you believe that? And you know why they can't? Because God said they couldn't. Apart from the Spirit of God, they will not be able to understand the things of God. And so, maybe you may be one of those persons and you're listening to this message and you're saying, "Well, I don't believe all that." You know why you don't believe it? If you're just putting everything on your knowledge and your wisdom and your basis, he says, this is a description of wisdom without God. That is man's knowledge. It's earthly, it's very limited. Secondly, it's sensual. That is, as he says, it's natural. And that is, it's corrupt. But then he says, for example, listen to this, it's demonic. It's root, it's found in Satan himself. So go back to Genesis chapter 3. Everything was absolutely perfect. And Satan convinced Eve. She believed a lie. And look at the consequences. The many people today, and you may be one of them. You've listened to the devil's lie. You've listened to him say to you, "You don't need God. Those church people are weak. You can handle it. You're smart enough to handle. You got position, you got money, you got intellect, you got talent." You don't need that religious stuff at all. Mark it down. That is the voice of the devil. The Word of God says it is demonic. It deals with your naturalness and that earthiness a part of you. And if you listen to Satan's lies, he's always going to tell you, "Well, this is the easy way." The issue is this. What's the wise way? What is the wisest thing to do? When your children come to you, and they ask you, well, what shall I do about this, that and the other? What do you say to them? Well, let me think about it. Or do you say to them, "No. Or why not? Because I said so." Or why don't you say to them, "I've been thinking about that." And my conclusion is, it's not the wisest thing to do. One thing we need to instruct our children is to ask that question, "What is the wise thing to do?" Not what is everybody else doing? What's the wisest thing to do? In other words, what does God see on the basis of His omniscience of knowing everything, omnipotence having all power, omnipresence being in the He's in the middle of everything you're dealing with. The question is, what is the wisest thing to do? Now, here's why you shouldn't be asking everybody you know. Because, first of all, you get a lot of different opinions. Then you're right back where you started, only more frustrated, more confused. God is going to always tell you exactly what you need to hear. Because He's going to be honest with us about everything. And I think about I've made a lot of decisions, after all these years, and some of them I made if I'd go back, I'd do it a little differently. But we were trying to find a house here in Atlanta when I first moved here. Couldn't find a house anywhere. And finally found one that was sort of okay. And it was not like me to finally say, okay on something like that, but I did. But the Lord, in His wisdom, believe me, it's His wisdom. I put in the contract if there's any water in the basement, I wouldn't take the house. That night it rained. It rained so much that there was a foot of water in the basement of that house the next day. So I canceled it. And so I think, God, what are you up to? That very week, my wife found the exact house we were looking for. Now, I didn't wait for God. I didn't say what's the wisest thing to do. I don't think this is the right one. Then don't buy it. But I did anyway. But then the Lord redeemed me from that. So then, I was in the process of buying an automobile. I'd been hit from behind, knocked me about 30 something feet down the road. And I waited for months to buy a car. And so, I finally felt I'd be very modest about what I was going to drive and so forth. So I kept looking around and you know what you know, you get to buy a car. You just go, what am I going to do? So, I finally found one I thought would be a pretty nice car, not too much. I'm sitting in it and I drove it three times. That should have told me something, but it didn't. And so I'm sitting there and the fellow walks up and says, "So what do you think?" So I'm thinking about it. I'm sitting there, I can still remember the color, I can still remember the dashboard, after all these years. And I'm thinking, what should I do? It's like God said to me, listen to this, "Do you want this? Or do you want My best?" I thought that was pretty good. "Do you want this, or do you want My best?" I said, "God, I want Your best." The fellow came over and asked me what I thought. I told him, "You're not going to understand what I'm thinking about." But here's an illustration. A couple of months or so later, I don't know the exact time. I was going to a meeting with this gentleman and he said, "Why don't you buy your car?" I said, "I just, God hadn't given me any peace about buying one for some reason." And he said, "What kind would you buy if you if you wanted one?" I said, "Well," and God is my witness. I never even thought about, I said, "Well, I'd have one just like this." Three days later, he sent me a check to buy an automobile just like his. Now, let's put it this way. Here's the issue. The car he gave me the money to buy was way out of the category of the one I was going to buy. What am I saying? I'm saying this, He always has the best. And the best isn't always the most expensive, but it's the best for you. He always has the best for us. And it is foolish for us to approach it any other way. So listen to what He says here. He says, it's earthly, limited, our knowledge. It's natural, worldly wisdom is natural. It's got the unholy mixed up in it. And thirdly, it's demonic. It's from the devil. Now if you can remember that, that we're talking about the devil that deceived Eve is still at work. And he'll work in your life if you open the door. Well, let me see what other folks are doing. That's not the issue. Is God, what is the wisest thing to do? And all of us have come to very difficult decisions in life that I don't know what you ask, but that's the right question. What is the wisest thing to do? Listen. Sometimes the wisest thing for you to do, nobody will agree with it. But you know what, remember, all their knowledge together can equal the wisdom of God. Listen, you can't ever go wrong. You cannot ever go wrong obeying God, never. Never. So just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean that it's not right. The wisdom of God, who has all wisdom, knows all things about all people. And I could just stand the rest of the afternoon telling you, giving you examples that flip through my mind about times that I've obeyed God and times that I haven't. And it's all, it all goes back to what is the wisest thing to do. Now, can you tell me a better question than that? Not really. Because therein is Almighty God. And so, what He does, He shows us here in this passage of scripture in James, here's the difference. Look at this. In this third chapter, he says verse 13, "Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior, his deeds and his gentleness and wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy, selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and lie against the truth." Look at this. This is a group of people who think they're wise. "This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, and demonic." And you and I live around people, probably at some point or another, and work around them. That's true of them. They think they have the right answer. They leave God out of it. And in their arrogance, they try to prove to you why they're right. Now they may have position and talent and skill and intellect and they may have all that. Does that make them wiser than you? No. They may be smart in many areas. But when you leave God out of your life, you're not smart at all. That's just demonic. And that falls in the category of living your life earthly, natural, and demonic. Look at that jealousy, self-ambition. And then if you'll notice here on down a little bit further, he says, "But the wisdom that's from above is first, listen to this, pure." Look at that. God's wisdom is pure. That means it is absolutely perfect. Do you get that? It is absolutely perfect wisdom. It's pure. And peaceable. His wisdom will bring you peace. Gentle. There's nothing harsh about it. Reasonable, reasonable, listen, from God's viewpoint, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering without hypocrisy. That's the wisdom of God. Listen, would you not agree that it's foolish to choose something else? Look at that passage. The wisdom from above, that's God's wisdom, pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy, good fruits, unwavering without hypocrisy. That's the kind of life I want to live. Amen. Now, what did he say up here? Jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, and every evil thing. Only two choices in life. You can choose to live wisely, or you can choose to live unwisely. And may I say this, you've already made that choice. Wherever you are, you're walking in the pathway of the wise, or you're walking in the pathway of the unwise. Change paths if you're walking unwisely. Listen, you're not smart enough. You may think you are, but you're not. You're not smart enough to outsmart God. You're not intellectual enough to know more than God. You don't know your future, God does. You don't know the future of those that you influence, but God does. Apart from Almighty God, through the saving person of Jesus Christ, who forgives us of our sin, cleanses us of our sin, writes our name in the Lamb's Book of Life. Has a will for us and lives presently within us through His Holy Spirit, He will give us wisdom in every single decision we make in life. There is no other way to live. Now if I were 30 years of age, you could say, what do you know about it? I'll be able to tell you that when I'm a hundred. You know why? Because it doesn't change. That's who God is. You can trust Him. He's not going to change on you about anything. You have two choices, live out your life. Wisely, living obediently before Him, living in wisdom, or you can live foolishly. Convince a lot of people, do a lot of things, go to a lot of places, have a lot of stuff. Then you're going to die. And my friend, when the last seconds of your life come, you're going to wish you had listened. The most tragic thing you can do is die without Christ. You know why? Because the consequences are eternal. May not have a lot of stuff, may not have any degrees behind your name, may not have any notoriety, most people never know you, name's not in the newspaper, TV, all that stuff. But you live for God. You've walked obediently before Him. You see, God's values are not the same as man's. What He thinks is absolutely awesome is not what the world thinks. So make up your mind. Are you going to live wisely? Are you going to live foolishly? You'll be wise if you choose Christ and His way of life. And that's my prayer for you. Father, how grateful we are that you've made it simple. And knowing that you loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us, pay our sin debt in full, You must have an awesome love for us. And so we want to be obedient to You because we're the ones who end up profiting from that in so many ways. And I pray that every person who listens to this message will think, think honestly, and realize that they've only heard the truth. It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. But all sin can be forgiven by asking and believing and trusting. We love You, dear Father. We thank You for the awesome gift of Your grace to all of us in Jesus' name. Amen.
Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us on In Touch. Wisdom comes from the Lord, so the ability to make truly wise decisions begins by being rightly related to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. You can find out more about who Jesus is and what He's done for you, and what He offers to you at our website, intouch.org, and click over to the Today on Radio page and you can hear this message again. To order a copy of Dr. Stanley's complete message, "Living Wisely or Foolishly," just visit our online store. This message is also included in his teaching set, "Wisdom From Above." For all this and more, log on to intouch.org. Or you can call or text us. The number is simply 1-800-INTOUCH. And you can write to us also. Address your letter to In Touch, Post Office Box 7900, Atlanta, Georgia, 30357 or 1-800-INTOUCH. When making decisions, consequences always need to be factored in. That's coming up in today's moment with Charles Stanley.
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Guest (Male): You're listening to In Touch. What's the single most important element in decision-making? Well, with a reminder for believers, here's a moment with Charles Stanley.
Dr. Charles Stanley: Would you say that the decisions that you're making are wise or unwise? I think about people who never consider the will of God for their life. They make decisions based on what they want, how they feel, what makes them feel good, or what other people think, and never asking, "What's the will of the Father?" Unwise, unwise decision. And we could go through life thinking about all the decisions that people make, for example. They stack up credit on their credit cards to the point that they know they can't make the payments. Why do they do that? Unwise decisions. People make unwise decisions because they leave out the most important thing in their life, and that is the wisdom of Almighty God. And so, they just operate on the basis of how they feel. What comes natural. What do other people think? What do I want? What do I desire? And so, if you make decisions based on those things, you'll make unwise decisions. And what we forget is this: every unwise decision, whether it's major or maybe not so major, it has consequences. And we live in a time when people do not want to think about consequences. They just want to think about the here and now. What I want, what makes me feel good, and so forth. What about the consequences? Consequences are there. And God tells us all through the scripture. He shows us in the lives of people. He gives us the principles. There are consequences to unwise decisions in our life. He started off showing us that in the Garden of Eden. We're still all suffering from those decisions in the garden. Let me ask you this. Have you made a decision recently that you have already seen that it was unwise because the consequences have come so quickly into your life? Or are you thinking about decisions that you've made, or rather major decisions, and you're thinking, "Well, I'm not sure about the consequences?" You want to be sure about the consequences? What place does God have in your decision-making process? Are you going to live it on your own? Are you going to be wise enough to seek the wisdom of God before you make any decision?
Guest (Male): God's wisdom is available to those who trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. Learn about the Christian life at intouch.org. And don't keep your faith to yourself. Share what you learned today. And you can start by telling us, next time on In Touch, what's the wisest thing to do? Be back with us on our next program as we lead you in search of wisdom from above. I hope you'll join us again for In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia, and remains on this station through the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts.