The fruits of wisdom

James 3:13 (NLT)

13 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.

A good reputation will be proof of a person’s wisdom. True wisdom is known by the works that are produced; for true wisdom is not about good intent or speculation. Lastly wisdom leads one to hold back their anger and patiently bear the anger of others. A wise person thinks before they act and their actions once again prove their wisdom.

1 Kings 3:16-28 (NKJV) - Solomon’s Wise Judgment

Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him.  And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.  And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”

Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.

And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”

Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”

So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”

And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

God had generously given Solomon wisdom and he became the wisest man ever known. Since Solomon chose wisdom, God blessed Solomon with many prized possessions. However, Solomon allowed sin to seep into his life. He began to love many women of foreign countries who turned his heart from God to their idols and gods. As Solomon turned away from God, God began to slowly remove the grace He had placed upon Solomon.

Be careful of letting sin slip into your life. For no matter how wise you are, sin is just waiting to take control.