Stupid Birds

I am by no means an expert on birds, but my guess is that they are not very smart. This is probably where we get the saying, "bird brain". Although, birds are probably like humans...some are smarter than others. Anyway, I have some really stupid birds in my backyard. They are driving me and my family nuts, because all day long they fly into the window in our living room. You would think that after busting their beaks several hundred times a day that they would grasp the concept of glass. But they don't.

Christians can sometimes live their lives like these stupid birds. For some reason, we can fall into the same sins and make the same mistakes over and over again. You would think that after falling into the same trap more than once that we would be smarter than the birds and learn from our mishaps. Well, in our scripture passage for today, James 1:5-8, James instructs us in verse 5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

Not that God is a genie or anything, but if you could ask him for one wish, what would you ask him for? Solomon asked for wisdom. And it worked out pretty good for him. Also, Proverbs 4 tells is to seek wisdom, because it is supreme. Over the last 20 years as a young Christian leader (I guess I am not that young anymore.), one of my ongoing prayers has been "for God to give me wisdom beyond my years". Off the top of my head, here are 5 Ways to Gain Wisdom:

1. Ask God. He is the omniscience, all-knowing God.

2. Read. I read as many books as I can and daily read and study the Bible.

3. Learn from the school of hard knocks. I try not to be like the stupid birds. I work hard to learn from my experiences and to try to never make the same mistake twice. Although, sometimes I can be a "bird brain".

4. Learn from history. I learn from the successes and failures of others, both past and present.

5. I seek Godly counsel.