Be Still And Know

James 3:17–18 Many churches these days observe that they have very few people in their 20s and 30s. Whenever I’ve asked people in that age group what they are looking for one theme dominates – authenticity. They are looking for Christians and churches that ring true because they practise what they preach. James was on exactly the same page and was ruthless in addressing those who say the right words but live a phoney life. What he longed for was truly wise people. Living wisely is attractive in every way. The wisdom comes directly from God but it has very down-to-earth implications. James draws particular attention to the fact that wise people love peace and go out of their way to cultivate it. You will never find a wise person trumpeting their wisdom. They just get on with doing God’s work, and God is always in the business of drawing people into the fullest experience of his peace. The word for peace that James uses here is built on the Hebrew word ‘shalom’. Shalom means peace, but much more tha