James 3:13-18
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 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. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
Heavenly Wisdom Is Meek, Not Weak
What’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom?
Knowledge is having the facts. Wisdom is knowing how to use the facts you’re given.
Here’s an example: At 10:00 last Sunday night, when I was getting ready to go to bed, I knew that my dog hadn’t been outside for a couple hours. That was a fact that I knew. How I used that fact would determine whether I was wise or not.
Should I have said to myself, “She’s a big girl. She’s been house broken for 3 years. She’ll be fine till morning.” Or, should I have said, “I’ll regret it in the morning if I don’t let her out now, even though I’m tired and just want to curl up in bed”?
It would have been the wise thing to do let the dog out. It would have been wise… Do we always make the wise decision? Sadly, we do not.
That’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom. You can have all the facts, but if you don’t use them the right way, you can actually be foolish rather than wise.
In our Second Lesson for today, James tells us that there’s a difference, not just between knowledge and wisdom, but between worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. In other words, we can use the facts we have in a way that the world would say is smart, but God would not. Our goal today is not only to know what heavenly wisdom is, but to understand how to use it.
Let’s dig into worldly wisdom first.
James begins this portion of his letter with a challenge. He calls on every Christian who considers himself wise and understanding, and he basically says, “Prove it!”
That’s been the theme for the entire letter that James has been writing. He’s writing to people like you and me, who take time to worship on a Sunday morning, who are practicing the Christian faith, who other people in this world could easily identify as followers of Jesus. To us, James has a not-so-subtle message: “It’s not enough to be known as or to claim to be a Christian. You actually have to do what Christians are supposed to do.” Otherwise, as we heard last week, your faith, if it is not accompanied by actions, is dead.
James makes a similar point today, only this time it’s about wisdom. It’s not enough for you to know things. It’s not enough for you to have facts that other people don’t. James wants you to show that you have wisdom, i.e. true, heavenly wisdom, “by your good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”[1]
Sadly, that’s not what we so often do. Instead, we fall into the traps that James mentions: bitter envy, selfish ambition, disorder and every evil practice. These are the hallmarks of worldly wisdom. Worse, James calls them, earthly, unspiritual, demonic.[2]
Like a noose slowly cinching tighter around the neck, James makes it clear that the wisdom of the world, the wisdom that is guided by bitter envy and selfish ambition – the wisdom that we so often use – is not innocent or trivial. It represents everything that God is not.
It’s not the heavenly ideal; it’s dirty and corrupt like the world.
It’s not spiritually minded; it’s carnal and reckless.
It’s not godly wisdom; it’s devilish and demonic.
This is a big deal, especially among people like us who claim to be Christian, who want to be wise and understanding. It has no place in our hearts, yet that’s where it makes its home.
Think about what you’re willing to say or share on social media. It is so easy to feel like because you have the facts on the vaccine, on a particular political policy or candidate, on how to raise your children – you feel like because you have the facts, you can say it. But do you ever stop to think about the impact that those words are going to have on someone else (who, by the way, will be quick to share facts of their own on those same topics)?
That’s worldly wisdom – the kind that’s more interested in getting something off your chest than in being helpful or constructive. That’s worldly wisdom that’s driven by my need to be heard and my need to be right because I have the facts, and that doesn’t particularly care how those facts are used. Worldly wisdom teaches us to be quick to judge other people based on the facts that they share, e.g. “Oh, you’re anti-this or pro-that; I have no patience for you.”
Worldly wisdom is earthly, unspiritual, demonic, and all too familiar.
Heavenly wisdom, on the other hand, is pure, humble and good, but above all, it’s rare. Here’s how James describes heavenly wisdom:
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. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.[3]
Does that sound like you? Are all your motivations pure and your thoughts squeaky clean? Do you use your wisdom, your intellect, your knowledge to make peace? Are you meek in the sense that you would be willing to be walked on and mistreated and humiliated without retaliating or talking back? Are you submissive, or, as the Greek suggests, are you willing to be easily persuaded when you get into an argument or disagreement? Are you quick to forgive, slow to judge, free of hypocrisy?
That’s a tall order! I know I don’t live up to it. I’m sure you can think of ways that you don’t either – whether it’s the pride that refuses to accept an insult or to allow someone else to be right, or the selfishness that refuses to forgive and always holds a grudge.
Heavenly wisdom is rare and, frankly, impossible for human beings. Well, impossible for all but one.
This is Jesus, isn’t it? In fact, Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says,
“Christ Jesus… has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”[4]
Jesus was all these things perfectly, completely. He was pure – without fault or failure or even the slightest sniff of sin. He was considerate and submissive, or as the Greek would put it, he was meek, choosing to be abused – physically, mentally, emotionally – rather than to stand up for his own rights. He was full of mercy, showing love and compassion to people who didn’t deserve it – to sinners like you and me who wallow in worldly wisdom far too often.
For us he bore good fruit by hanging on a tree and being the sacrifice to pay for our sin no matter who you are or what you’ve done, because he’s impartial and sincere. He didn’t just talk about his love for you; he did something about it. He gave his life for you, so that you could be at peace, so that you and I could be free of guilt and shame for our bitter envy and selfish ambition, so that you and I could be reconciled to God and at peace with him.
That’s the heavenly wisdom that comes from above. That’s the humility and love of our Saviour. That’s the freedom and forgiveness we have in Jesus. He is our life and our light, the one who cleanses our souls and gives true, heavenly wisdom to those who have the humility to listen.
So, I’ll ask you the same thing that James asked his first readers,
“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”[5]
When you know that you’re a sinner saved by grace, i.e. that you don’t deserve God’s love but you’ve been given it, that brings the humility we need to set our rights aside, to be meek and considerate, willing to “give in” for the sake of someone else. God’s got us taken care of. What he gives us is all we need.
I am more than grateful for the gift of his gospel and his promise of forgiveness in Christ. Because I have that, I can endure the scorn and shame of other people. I don’t have to assert my dominance or insist on being right or stating the facts as I see them. God’s got my back.
Now, I’m free to be peace-loving, to be a peacemaker – not just someone who likes peace but someone who makes it. The wisdom that comes from heaven teaches us how to do that. Just think about some of the times in you life that peace is threatened.
Someone cuts you off in traffic. You don’t have to cuss them out. Your boss is unreasonable and demanding. You don’t have to mutter under your breath or talk behind their back. You’re arguing with your sibling about whose turn it is to pick up the living room or do the dishes. Even if you’re right, it’s not worth the price of winning.
The attitude of a Christian is the same as the attitude of Christ: peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, impartial and sincere[6] – not because we have to be, but because that’s what Jesus was for us; not because it’ll make life easier (sometimes it will, sometimes it won’t), but because we’ll reap a harvest of righteousness.
The world will laugh at you for being a doormat to other people. The world will call you weak, not wise. But God will smile on you, seeing in you a reflection of his love for you.
So, be humble, and seek the wisdom that comes from heaven. Be wise and show it by your good life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God give you the strength to live according to his good will. Amen.
[1] James 3:13
[2] James 3:15
[3] James 3:17,18
[4] 1 Corinthians 1:30
[5] James 3:13
[6] James 3:17