‘Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.’ James 3:13-18
I love our age. As long as God is gracious and we have electricity and the Internet, we have information at our fingertips. Not only do we have what has been posted on the Internet, but we are moving in a direction where computers will be able to reason and learn.
For many people, the idea of computers thinking for themselves is scary. But here is the reality: God is not surprised by this.
As Christians, we know that the wisdom we receive doesn’t come from computers that are thinking for themselves, but we receive our wisdom from the words that God had us record in the sixty-six books of what is called the Bible.
From early on in the establishment of our faith, it is written in the Book of Joshua that God said to Joshua:
‘This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success. ‘ Joshua 1:8
If you call yourself a Christian, Bible reading, study, and meditation should be as natural as breathing in and out. It should be a Spiritual discipline that is practiced daily. His Word is the water that cleans our minds. It is what the catalyst for the renewing of our minds.
Let’s breakdown the key verse from the Book of James:
‘Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
James asks us “Who among you is wise and understanding?” Then he moves into how we show that we are wise with understanding, he writes “Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”
Head knowledge is useless without application. Having wisdom and not applying it is not a wise thing. We show our wisdom by the proper application. I like the way that he describes it as “his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”
I think far too often, we are quick to resolution, sometimes with a smug arrogance, when others come to us with issues that we see as easy to fix. But we are called work within the “gentleness of wisdom.”
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
What is scary about this is part of scripture is that James is addressing “believers.” So this is something that he must have witnessed in the church.
As a disciple of Jesus, these attributes should be getting less and less as time moves forward and these attributes are “bitter jealousy,” “selfish ambition,” and “arrogant.”
When I think about these words, most of these come of the 10th Commandment, “Thy shall not covet.”
For some reason, we have a tendency to become jealous over when we see others receive God’s blessing.
We are called to celebrate the successes of others who believe.
‘Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. ‘ Romans 12:14-16
Paul reminds us that we not only celebrate (rejoice) with others who celebrate but we are also to bless those who persecute us. How is that for taking it up a notch.
But this is what the world does, right? Always looking to tear the other person down. And celebrate when it is revealed that the successful person is sinful in one way or another. In some cases, they are “canceled.”
This world system builds itself up by tearing others down. Every one is a critic. James tells us that “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.“
Survival of the fittest, right?
But here are the attributes of the wisdom that comes from God: But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
– It’s pure. It is not adulterated by anything. Jesus was the perfect example of a life lived without sin. He was pure, His life is the perfect example that we are called to grow closer and closer every day. And it is happening.
‘For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus. ‘ Philippians 1:6
– It’s peace-loving. It is always looking to find peace. In the Sermon on the Mount, it says “Blessed is the peace maker.” Jesus came to be the peace maker, He laid down His life so that we could have peace with God. And it is our call to do the same for those around us.
– It is gentle. I’m not sure about you but what is going on in church doesn’t seem to have that gentle approach. We are critical of the world at large, but we can’t seem to keep each other accountable. We’d rather examine and condemn what we see in the world around us then to seriously tackle the sin we allow in our own lives.
– It is reasonable. It takes the time to listen. Sometimes, people don’t come to the conclusion we want them to, as quickly as we think it should. Where if we just listen long enough, the other person will come to the reasonable conclusion themselves, and it will stick with them forever. Or they may say something that may help us, through God’s Spirit, guide them to the right answer.
– It is full of mercy and goods works. Jesus mention in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed is the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” It is amazing to me that the grace and mercy that we bestow on those around is what we can expect from the Lord. The condition of our heart should be bent on showing grace, mercy and forgiveness to those around us due to what the Lord has done for us.
The Book of James is one of those books that really shows that a by-product of the Lord’s saving grace in our lives should reflect action that emulates the One who laid His life down for us.
– It is impartial. It calls right, right and wrong, wrong. It does not show favor. Salvation is available to every one, and God chooses those who willingly chose Him. This is one of those mysteries. But no one will end up in hell who has not consciously chosen to be there.
‘For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of mankind through Christ Jesus. ‘ Romans 2:11-16
– It is free of hypocrisy. It always says and does the right thing. It is the same today as it was yesterday as it will be tomorrow. It does say one thing and do another.
I am thankful that my salvation is in the hands of Jesus. It is His strength that will see me through. For me I am laying down my burdens at His feet.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness. I know that You are doing Your work, and I pray that You give me the sense to stay in step with Your Spirit.
I thank You for sending Jesus to us. For His sacrifice. I pray that I grow closer and closer to Jesus every day.
Thank You for the people You place around me, I pray that they see Jesus centered in my words, attitude and actions.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
