You might have heard this before - Wisdom is a personality, and every personality has its unique quirks, mannerisms and qualities that separate them from another.
Wisdom has a household and every household has a system that keeps it running smoothly. Wisdom has seven servants that serve her household.
These are the names of her servants:
- Pure
- Peace-loving
- Considerate
- Submissive
- Full of mercy and good fruit
- Impartial
- Sincere
Today lets engage with her servant called, PURE, aka PURITY. I know you probably thinking, who is really that pure these days or how do I attain such high standards or I am not trying to put on a holier than thou attitude just doesn't work for me or any situation I find myself. I urge you, to stay with me a couple of minutes. First thing you need to understand about purity is that, it isn't simply about what we do but about what Christ has done to make us pure.
" Brothers and sisters, we have confidence that we can enter the holy of holies by means of Jesus’ blood, through a new and living way that he opened up for us through the curtain, which is his body, and we have a great high priest over God’s house. Therefore, let’s draw near with a genuine heart with the certainty that our faith gives us, since our hearts are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies are washed with pure water. Let’s hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, because the one who made the promises is reliable.." Hebrews 10:19-22
Purity addresses our state of mind and the contents of our heart, purity identifies motive! At the bottom of everything we do there is a motive, at the beginning of every journey there is a thought originating from our mind. The state of the mind (environment) will determine the quality of that thought. Purity does not work on her own.
In every household run by servants there is a ranking for the servants. You might be familiar with the TV series Downton Abbey where lots of periodic culture and tradition is depicted with colour and drama. Even the servants that run the magnificent household Downton Abbey have such entertaining lives and within their own mix as in many societies there is a ranking. From the butler to the housekeeper, the cook and the maids and the footmen. I may not have gotten the order completely right but hope you get the point. Lol. There is a ranking because there needs to be order that works throughout the household and certain ranks are looked to for direction or leading.
When I am guided by purity in my relationships, I find that peace is never far away. Identifying with the motive which is pure is important because it helps confirm to you that you are doing nothing wrong. I have discovered that when I am in a hurry it is sometimes hard to identify with purity because something is out of sync and my mind begins to pick up on tensions that release anxiety rather than peace. Guess what I am saying is if something is the right choice it would also be the right time and there will be no need for haste.
Wisdom, it says in proverbs has built her house and it is held up by seven pillars. She has seven servants she has sent out. In the book of James, it names the first of these servants. PURE. This means that the top-ranking servant in wisdom's household is PURITY.
PURITY almost seems like a redundant quality in today's world. Perceived as weak or unscrupulous, a quality with little backbone.
Yes, here she comes again with her sanctimonious ideas for a party? Or there she goes refusing to have a little bit of fun mocking our ever annoying manager, after all, everyone does it.
Yet Purity remains the top-ranking servant in Wisdom's household ushering all other servants into their daily duties and responsibilities that keep the household running smoothly. And this is why I believe she ranks number 1 ..
1) Purity gives us a tender and responsive heart (Ezekiel 36:26). The physical heart is surrounded by large arteries and these arteries are responsible for carrying blood to and from the heart. These arteries can sometimes be clogged due to bad eating habits or sometimes general lifestyle that puts a strain on the heart. This obstructs the supply of blood and other important nutrients to the heart and so the heart is less responsive than it should be. Spiritually, this happens too where we develop habits that clog our mind and inhibit clear thinking patterns, the result is a harden, unforgiving heart that is unable to discern what is truly required in any situation it finds itself.
2) Purity cultivates stability (James 1:8, Ezekiel 36:33, James 4:8) Every household needs a commander that is steadfast and committed. The top-ranking servant cannot afford to be doubleminded; they acknowledge that they have one master and serve just the one master. This makes it impossible for the servant to doubt what is required at anyone given time because she knows her master well enough and based on what she knows she is able to perform her duties without wavering, she is constants as He is constant, steady as he is steady.
3) Purity judges' motives (Titus 1:15, Proverb 16:2, Ezekiel 25:2) We must learn to go back to the basics and ask ourselves simple questions like, why does this matter? When the tabernacle was being built God gave a very clear instruction, He said "accept the contributions from all those whose hearts are moved to offer them." He wanted even the motives of those giving into this project to be judged. He didn't want contributions forced out of people because it would mean their motives for giving where not pure. Any solid building must stand on pure intent.
James 4:3 The right motives also ensures that our prayers are answered. When we ask with the wrong motive, we don't get an answer...certainly not the one we want. So, if we want more answered prayers in our lives, we must think what is my motive for asking? Is it PURELY for my selfish pleasure? God isn't in the habit of answer such prayers.
4) Purity is instrumental in breaking strongholds, the chains of an idol, setting us free from the things that tether us to false gods Ezekiel 36:25. The whole point of the abundant life Jesus came to give us is freedom. He came to set us free; He is the atonement and the one that has reconciled us to God. In doing so every chain is broken as we are cleanse by his blood
What this all says to me is that in being the top-ranking servant, purity carries a lot of responsibility. In fact, you could almost consider her the least of the servants because she is the foundational servant that carries the others and that is heavy stuff but necessary in ensuring a complete and immaculate household. As it says in James the wisdom of heaven is "first pure" and so the others sit on top of this foundation of wisdom.
The state of our heart is vital to our journey.
Be blessed!
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