James 3:13-18
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
At the time of the writing of James, revolution was the talk of the town. Religious zealots wanted to overthrow Roman rule, while Roman advocates were plotting the destruction of the Jewish temple. All the while you had a new movement, The Way as Acts calls it. It's a matter of time before worlds collide. James is offering a peaceable alternative to the tension at the time.
You know what tension is. Tension is when you walk into a room where there has been or is going to be conflict. "You can cut the tension with a knife." Sometimes we find ourselves on one side or another when it comes to that tension. So how do we live? From where do we take advice?
When describing what love looks like, we often start by saying what it is not. When trying to describe wisdom, we can say that it is not bitter jealousy. It does not have selfish ambition in its heart. It does not lead others to boast or be false in the truth. Un-Godly wisdom is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. It is one thing to know what wisdom is not. I think we can all agree on that. But James offers depth to what wisdom is. Wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
Wisdom, in short, is a gift. It was given to King Solomon when he sought out God above. He lost that wisdom when he turned from its source. Jesus was called the great teacher because he possessed much wisdom. But it was not merely his intellect, but his lifestyle that showed wisdom. For wisdom is not something one can gain by reading a bunch of books, quoting a lot of theologians, or offering criticism to anyone who might not agree with us. Wisdom is a way of life that bears witness to Jesus Christ. True wisdom is not brazenly book smart, but a way of life full of compassion.
Prayer: God, make me wise in mind, body and soul. Help me to be peaceable and not arrogant in using the wisdom that you have given me. Amen.
G. Thomas Martin
