IN his epistle to "the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad," James has much sage advice to give on such themes as patience, prayer, faith, and works; and among the many wise sayings with which his brief letter abounds, perhaps none can surpass those which deal with divine wisdom. Almost at the beginning the apostle writes, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him;" and farther on, he characterizes that divine wisdom which he entreats his fellow-Christians to ask of God, in the following terms: "The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."
It is deeply interesting that the apostle should thus make his appeal to the Christians scattered abroad to gain the wisdom of God. In doing so he brings to their recollection the fact of God's impartiality, and actually indicates the nature of divine wisdom in terms of purity, peaceableness, gentleness, approachableness, mercifulness,—all mental qualities productive of good results. James went back scientifically to God as the source of wisdom; Christian Science always does the same. In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 275) Mrs. Eddy writes: "All substance, intelligence, wisdom, being, immortality, cause, and effect belong to God. These are His attributes, the eternal manifestations of the infinite divine Principle, Love. No wisdom is wise but His wisdom; no truth is true, no love is lovely, no life is Life but the divine; no good is, but the good God bestows." As these words indicate, Christian Science attributes all to God, as the one divine and infinite Principle of being. Wisdom is thus an attribute of God; and "no wisdom is wise but His wisdom." That is to say, unless thought is governed by the understanding of divine Principle—endued with Principle's ideas—it cannot be in accord with divine intelligence,—divine intelligence which itself is the very essence of wisdom.
"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." In every age wisdom has been appraised in a similar way to that. It may be profitable, therefore, to consider the meaning of the word "wisdom." Dictionary definitions are often of little value, simply because, as a rule, they do not seek to go deeper than the human point of view. But what the student of divine Science, more than anything else, requires is the spiritual meaning of those terms which relate to God and His qualities. Indeed, if he have not that, a definition may be of little or no value to him. The endeavor must be to gain an understanding of divine Mind and its attributes; and this understanding will not fail to enlighten us on the nature of divine wisdom. On page 587 of Science and Health, our Leader gives the following definition of God: "God. The great I am; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence." Could anything possibly present more vividly the fact that God is all-wise than that profound statement as to His nature? The Being who knows all, sees all, loves all, and is eternally active, must surely be infinitely wise.
As Christ Jesus was foretelling the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem, and warning his hearers of the difficulties ahead of them, he promised them, when they were called upon to make answer before their persecutors, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist." What was this "mouth and wisdom" he referred to? Can there be any doubt that he meant that divine wisdom which was the result of spiritually understanding God, the understanding he himself so fully possessed, and which Paul pertinently referred to when he wrote to the Philippians, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus"? Assuredly, wisdom abides in fullest measure in the Mind of Christ.
The question naturally arises, How shall we gain the Mind of Christ, and so possess divine wisdom? In "Miscellaneous Writings," beginning on page 359, Mrs. Eddy writes: "Men give counsel; but they give not the wisdom to profit by it. To ask wisdom of God, is the beginning of wisdom. Meekness, moderating human desire, inspires wisdom and procures divine power." Here, surely, is practical advice. First, there must be the desire for divine wisdom; next, the desire must grow into the prayer for it; and then meekness will inspire this prayer; with the inevitable result that wisdom will be obtained and divine power realized. Every student of Christian Science well knows these steps. Each of them is necessary before the inspired wisdom comes, the wisdom which our "adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist."
Every one who desires to possess the wisdom of God must be prepared to examine himself, time and again, to see where he is standing mentally; for wisdom cannot reign where human will and human desire—material or personal—hold sway. Supposititious mortal mind must be replaced by the Mind of Christ; the two cannot dwell together. And the fundamental mental attitude which gains the ear of Deity and calls down His gift of wisdom is humility or meekness. This simply means that to some extent one is understanding and demonstrating the supremacy, the allness of God, and that man, God's creation, is entirely dependent upon God for every blessing. This mental attitude of humility alone makes the answering of prayer possible, because it is unselfed. It acknowledges the eternal Principle as the source of all good, of all wisdom; and it enables us to reflect that divine wisdom.
What a call there is upon every student of Christian Science for divine wisdom! Without it, where is he? In church work of every kind, be it ushering, teaching in Sunday school, Reading-Room work, acting as a Reader, serving on a board or committee, teaching, lecturing, or practicing Christian Science in healing the sick, sinning, and sorrowful, the same demand is made for wisdom, —divine wisdom. Without it, think of the inharmony that may come in to hinder the progress of God's work. And, indeed, if at any time inharmony should appear to be in evidence, we can be certain that divine wisdom is absent. Whenever such a condition shows itself, should it not be the endeavor of those who detect the error, at once to declare the truth, silently it may be; and in meekness strive to regain that wisdom which alone can give poise to judgment, alone is able to solve the problems, whatever they may be, which come before us? It is idle to argue with the foibles of mortal mind; idle to try to refute their irrational vagaries. Mortal mind can be met and mastered by divine wisdom alone; by that divine wisdom which, because it is based on the spiritual understanding of divine Truth, and because it is the reflection of divine Love, knows the unreality of all that is unlike good. "Our sufficiency is of God," "the great I am; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal." May we strive to realize and demonstrate the fact!
