James's mention of wisdom in connection with endurance may at first glance appear somewhat strange. But it can appear that way to us today, because wisdom for us today is often connected with something bookish, philosophical, abstract. Wisdom, however, as the Bible understands it, was always something practical rather than abstractly speculative...
James's mention of wisdom in connection with endurance may at first glance appear somewhat strange. But it can appear that way to us today, because wisdom for us today is often connected with something bookish, philosophical, abstract. Wisdom, however, as the Bible understands it, was always something practical rather than abstractly speculative. The corresponding Hebrew word, like its Greek equivalent, denotes above all art, skill, first of all practical skill. A skilled craftsman who knew how to make a beautiful thing from stone, wood, or metal could be called wise: here both the practical skill of a worker and the sense of beauty proper to an artist were needed. Wise was also the name given to someone who knew how to govern, whether his own household or an entire country.
Here skill was connected no longer with a craftsman's mastery, but with the experience that makes it possible to build relationships with people, take account of each person's interests, and see that the task set is solved, not by infringing on someone's interests, but for the common good. But the highest form of wisdom was the wisdom of the righteous person, the experience and skill of righteous life. It would seem that righteousness is a gift of God, and little depends on the person here. But every gift must be received skillfully, and the skill of righteous life is connected precisely with this ability. How can one follow God despite one's own sinfulness, and follow Him in such a way as to stumble less?
The wisdom of the one seeking righteous life was connected with the answer to this question. This is the wisdom of which James speaks. And the steadfastness he mentions, which would be a more accurate translation of the Greek word rendered as "patience" in the Synodal translation, plays a significant role in acquiring it. The spiritual core on which a person's whole life, inward and outward, rests can be strong only when external events do not wash it away or destroy it. And James advises asking God how to make it so. This is understandable: after all, it is God who makes a person righteous, opening to him the road into the Kingdom.
