Heavenly wisdom is impartial. This means that in my dealing with others, I must not play favorites. It is so easy to do this, especially as a leader. There are always those who are hardworking, cooperative, non-confrontational and helpful. It is easy to favor these people who are pleasant to us. And there are also always those who are unlikable, perhaps prickly or uncooperative, and it’s so natural to quietly shove them off to the side. But this is not heavenly wisdom.
Two commands that expand on this come to mind. First, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:39) I should be impartially as gracious to my neighbor as I am to myself. That’s a pretty high standard!
The second command, “Do to others what you want them to do to you,” (Matt. 7:12) is as rigorously demanding. If I want others to be considerate, I must be. If I want them to be gracious and understanding, so must I. If I want them to be forgiving, so must I. If I want them to treat me with respect and justness, I must do the same to them–first. And if I am to confront others where they need it, I must be willing to accept confrontation from them.
Another passage that gives us a glimpse at this truth is in James 2:3,4
“If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”
There is no room here for playing sides, cultivating favorites or avoiding confrontations with those close to us when it is needed. Heavenly wisdom deals even handedly, treating each person with grace, courage and respect, caring enough to confront when necessary.
