No Glass Jaws

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is pure. That’s the most important thing about it. And that’s not all. It also loves peace. It thinks about others. It obeys. It is full of mercy and good fruit. It is fair. It doesn’t pretend to be what it is not.” James 3:17

I used to follows boxing quite a bit. For a peaceful chap, know as a hippie and growing up  in the San Francisco Bay area in the 1970s, I’m sure this seems a bit incongruent! Truth is, I haven’t watched a professional match in over 20 years. But back then I did: Ali, Frazier, Holyfield, Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard; I would watch any time a top ranked bout was broadcast.

There is a term in the sport that refers to a boxer who is especially vulnerable to getting hit around the head and face. He is said to have a “glass jaw”. It was used of someone who was excessive fragile and susceptible to even a light blow.

I think we can go through life with a “glass jaw” sometimes. Imagine a moment when you have had a deep insight. You had a real moment of clarity about some aspect of your life. If you are a young adult, perhaps your career path suddenly shines brightly in front of you. Or, as a parent, perhaps the reason for one of your children’s behavior finally dawns on you. Maybe you receive some insight about a life issue you have struggled with. You feel great about it, and want to share it with others.

Here’s where the “glass jaw” comes in. First, understand, when you share an “insight” with someone, they feel it is an invitation to give a running commentary on your discovery. This is true nearly 100 percent of the time. “I just realized I have a real talent for electronics. I want to go into information technology as a career.” “Oh, I see. You’re in a rural state, have you considered how few posts there are for technology gigs here? And, I don’t remember you excelling in math; how are you even going to get through all the training it takes to understands computer networks?”

If you have a glass jaw, those comments dash your insights to the ground. They lay in broken shards at your feet while you scratch your chin, or what is left of it, since your glass draw was just shattered, and wonder how true your original insight was, after all.

God has a wisdom to give to us that helps us avoid the glass jaw syndrome. We won’t take the time to talk about each characteristic that James lists in this single verse. But, here is my take: God’s wisdom is pure and peaceable. I share my insight with someone, and am even convinced God has shown it to me. Because I am leaning on the purity of God’s wisdom, my ego is not involved. My motives are “pure”, not “me-centered”, but God-centered. I can take someone else’s advice or not, depending on its quality. But, I don’t have to be shattered. I am “at peace” in my decision. I’m not full of a prideful need to prove my insight was “gospel”.

God’s wisdom thinks about others and obeys. (“Obeys” here, should be better translated “accommodating). As I am seeking wisdom about my future, my children, a relationship, or a decision at work, if I am considering its effect on the people involved, I’m more likely to receive a good hearing. It is when we climb ladders in life, crushing the fingers of those we climb over that we receive some well-deserved objections. When we are seeking to the wisdom that comes from God, we think of others, and are willing to tweak our idea based on good input from other people. Again, the glass jaw is safely attached to the face, not fractured on the floor.

God’s wisdom is full of mercy and good fruit. I need this one, how about you? So many times as I hear people share about seeking God’s will, their motivations are pounding insistently on the word “I”. “I” need a good job. “I” need a house in a good neighborhood. “I” want to rise in the company. God’s wisdom might be: “Where can I show God’s mercy the best?” “Where can I live to exhibit God’s love to the most people?” “How can I be an example of mercy where I work?” God’s wisdom takes our focus from ourselves and points it to a world that is desperate for mercy. When you have chosen based on mercy and good fruit, you don’t need to be defensive. No glass jaw problem here.

Finally, it doesn’t pretend it is something it is not. This is a toughie. I am a pastor. People think of pastors a certain way. I think pastors should act a certain way. So, out of respect to my congregants and to my preconception about how pastors act, I act spiritual, scholarly, prayerfully, and speak in tones that come right out of a 1940s black and white melodramatic movie. God’s wisdom is actually so freeing! Though it takes time to become comfortable simply being yourself, it is the freest way to live! Don’t pretend! Don’t say, “I was praying, and I can swear God said…no, there was an angel too; any, God said…wait, and there was smoke in the room…and God said,…Mark…thou shalt goest to Washington State University, for I have called thee to study thy books and learning upon the hillocks of that campus.” Really? How about: “I was praying, and I just kept sensing I was supposed to go to WSU.” Ah…nice, refreshing, real!