Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct let him show his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.  James (Jacob) 3:13, TLV

The Art of Good Deeds.        Does showing our good deeds — our good conduct — in the gentleness of wisdom look different than “ordinary” deeds? On the surface, probably not. But wisdom deepens everything we do from a kind word to a kind deed. Why?

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, not hypocritical. (vs. 17, TLV)

Sometimes a good deed or flattery or giving of our time and resources is actually unwise. Or, at the very least, it doesn’t have a lasting effect. It’s like the saying, “Throwing good money after bad.” Our conduct and deeds may seem righteous, but without the Holy Spirit’s discernment, we could be “throwing good deeds after bad.”

Now this I pray, that your love might overflow still more and more in knowledge and depth of discernment, in order to approve what is excellent—so that in the Day of Messiah you may be sincere and blameless … Philippians 1:9-10, TLV

One of the early lessons Bob and I learned when we began “living” Proverbs* is how often we did exactly that — throw good deeds after bad. We had little to no discernment. And what discernment we had, we tended to ignore. This resulted in many disappointments and—well, unnecessary trouble.

When Yeshua’s half-brother, Jacob talked about wisdom, it was with the understanding of living the words taught by his ancestors, King David in Psalms and his son, Solomon in Proverbs. What Jacob summarizes in verse 17, is but a tiny drop of what the Scriptures teach us.

Nice to know we don’t have to go far to learn the art and life of wisdom.

Think More About It

Have you ever done a good deed without discernment? What was the result?

May we understand the art of good deeds.

Praying for Israel—Prayer Prompt

A psalm of David.
I will sing of lovingkindness and justice.
To You, ADONAI [LORD], I will sing praises.
I will behave wisely in the way of integrity
—when will You come to me?
I walk in my house with integrity in my heart.
No base thing will I set before my eyes.
Twisted behavior I hate—it will not cling to me. Psalm 101:1-3, TLV

King David didn’t always live with honor and integrity. Even someone who was close to the LORD as a young man—did great exploits—strayed. Why? Because he didn’t behave wisely. Israel is no different. Join me in praying this exhortation for Israel—and for us all. Amen? God bless you.

*Want to learn how to read and “live” Proverbs? Sign up for my newsletter and you’ll receive two downloadable gifts. The second gift is the booklet, How to Read Proverbs. Sign up below.