“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” –James 3:17, emphasis added
Impartial is hard.
Especially when it concerns people with whom we are partial (duh)—our family and friends. When friends and family are involved, it’s easy to be ruled by emotions rather than reality.
How different would your decisions, your counsel, your reactions, and your opinions be if “nameless individuals” were part of the situations you evaluated, or conflicts you sought to resolve?
Wyndham has always been considered “a safe place,” in part because of his wisdom to be impartial. One’s position or relationship to him really didn’t matter. This did not always come easy, however. He learned wisdom from God as he sought to determine WHAT was right, not WHO was right.
What a miry walk we walk when we let personalities rule our emotions, rather than principles of right and wrong.
Principle over personality.
This is an axiom he practices and teaches. What’s the Biblical principle? What is right?
Jesus, in Mark 12:14 is seen among men as a man of integrity.
“They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not…?”
How I admire this quality in Jesus. How hard this quality has been for me, one who has often been a people pleaser, wanting everyone happy. This is something I have worked hard on in my character. Could the description of Jesus be said of us? Or would it more likely read…you are often swayed by personalities, because you pay attention to who they are and how they respond, stretching God’s truth in accordance with your emotions. Ouch.
I must often ask who I am most trying to please–God, or someone else. God, or me (I can be partial to myself as well).
I’ve often watched Wyndham imitate this quality of Jesus as he made hard decisions, unpopular decisions, “reacted to” decisions—all while seeking to be impartial and to practice principle over personality. But like I said earlier, this quality has also made him a sought after “safe place.”
How does partiality/impartiality play out in our lives…
