Meekness of wisdom and total devotion to Christ

[mizpeh]

The meekness of wisdom was and is a living attribute of Jesus Christ. It typified His existence here during His earthly ministry and it typifies His existence now. As Savior and Intercessor, we may be assured that He yet maintains this characteristic as He watches over us and our day to day circumstances. He knows what is best for us even when we don’t know; this is because of His wisdom and the meekness that springs from that wisdom. Our duty and our challenge is to increase our wisdom and walk in meekness even as He did while here upon this earth. This challenge is a lifetime challenge with eternal rewards.

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3.13-18).

In the text just cited from James, we learn that the meekness of wisdom is not self-seeking; rather it is "willing to yield." Had our Savior not exhibited this spirit, we would have no Savior! Had He not been willing to lay down His life for ours, unworthy and despicable as we were, we would yet remain in our sins. The spirit of self-seeking is not consistent with the spirit of Christ and will destroy any opportunity we may have to serve Him. In contrast, the "willing to yield" attitude is one which does typify Christ and it will also maximize our opportunities to serve Him and others. This spirit is not the spirit of compromise when it comes to truth and doctrinal issues, but it is a pliant spirit that yields to others in matters of personal preferences.

The meekness of wisdom recognizes the things that are important and distinguishes them from the insignificant things that fade away with the passing of time. This was the problem with the rich young ruler; he failed to recognize the things of importance. When he asked what he should do to inherit eternal life, Jesus queried him about keeping the commandments. Being assured by the young man that he faithfully adhered to the commandments, Jesus told him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Luke 18.22). The meekness of wisdom was lacking in the life of this young man as evidenced by his inordinate love for the things he had accumulated

The meekness of wisdom helps to insure that we keep our priorities straight and refuse to deviate from the pursuit of a Christ-like life and attitude. Meekness is the quiet resolve to pursue the admirable goals of godliness in spite of influences or opposition to the contrary. As James said, the meekness of wisdom produces believers who are "…first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy."

http://www.liveasif.org/view.cgi?typ...st=20060922001

I don't understand his argument concerning meekness of wisdom and the rich young ruler's sadness at the thought of giving up his earthly possessions to follow Jesus. I don't see the connection that his devotion to God has with meekness of wisdom. What am I missing?