Wisdom, liberally

Today will require decisions you do not feel qualified to make — about a child, a conversation, money, a next step. James assumes exactly that situation: if any of you lack wisdom. No shame attaches to the lack. The only mistake available is not asking.

Look at how the Giver is described. He gives liberally — open-handedly, more like a harvest than a ration. And He upbraideth not: He does not scold you for needing to ask, does not sigh, does not say “again?” Some of us learned to expect exasperation when we ask for help; this verse corrects the expectation at the source.

The promise is flat and unconditional: it shall be given him. Not always as a lightning bolt — more often as clarity that forms while you pray, counsel that arrives through a friend, a wrong option quietly losing its appeal. Ask before the decisions today, not after them.