A little wiser

James 3:17-18 (NLT)

17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

True wisdom is God's gift. It is not gained by conversing with men, not by the knowledge of the world, but it comes from above. The wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, and easy to be heard. Wisdom is used by peacemakers who plant the seeds of peace to bring about a lasting peace, not just a temporary peace.

In the fall of 2011, Pete Richeson walked into the sheriff's office to turn himself in for something he did nearly six decades ago.

While attending the Iron Bowl, the annual college football game between rivals Auburn and Alabama, the Auburn student stole a "rat cap," a fraternity beanie, off the head of an Alabama freshman. Pete said he and his brother were walking to Legion Field with stealing a hat in mind. "That was one of the objectives, to go to the ballgame, but look for a suitable victim that you could attack," he said. Richeson said his plan worked perfectly as his brother blocked the Alabama freshman while he ran off with the hat.

"We took it back to Auburn and passed it around the dormitory at that time, and we nailed it to the wall, and it stayed there."

Now, sixty years later, Richeson tried to return the cap, but the local sheriff told him the statute of limitations had expired. But Pete would still like to return the rat cap to its rightful owner and make amends. He even provided a personal email for anyone who wants to claim the cap.

Richeson said, "It's stayed with me for over sixty years, and I would like to give it back to the man it belongs to. I'm sure he had some consequences he had to face …. I must do something soon, because we're both close to 80-years-old, and I'm hoping he's still alive."  [Auburn alum in his late 70s trying to return rat cap stolen off Bama student at 1949 Iron Bowl, The War Eagle Reader (11-23-11);]

When I was a teenager I was the victim of a similar circumstance. A friend and I were selling concession souvenirs at a football game.  My friend had gone to watch the last few minutes of the football game as I tended the table of souvenirs. Just as the game was ending a man walked by and grabbed a University of South Carolinia hat off the table. He started walking off as I asked nicely for him to return the cap, but he kept going. Instead of leaving the table unattended I let him go in peace. It wasn’t worth risking the loss of other items; for we had to pay for any items missing out of our own funds. In this case God’s wisdom told me I needed to stay put. I wanted to run over and grab the hat off the man’s head, which most likely could have started a fight; and I could have lost more items. So I remained there peaceful, upset, but wiser in my understanding that there are people who are not concerned with the things of others.