James 3:13-18
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Introduction:
Once there was a chief who became suspicious that not everyone in his village was loyal to him. He suspected, even, that some within the village might be plotting to replace him with a different chief. He worried very much about it until one day he went to the village witch doctor to try to formulate a plan.
The witch doctor gave him a special poison and said “this is a very special poison. I have prayed to our ancestors and the spirits and can assure you that whoever drinks this poison and is loyal to you, that person will be unharmed. But whoever drinks this poison and is not loyal to you, that person will die.”
The chief thanked the witch doctor and paid him handsomely for the poison. The next day the chief gathered the village before him. Near the chief was a big pot of the poison. The chief announced “I suspect that not all of you are loyal to me. I have determined that everyone in the village is to take some of this drink home with them tonight and drink it. I promise you that those who are loyal to me will be fine, but if you are not loyal to me, the drink will become poisonous to you.”
The next day, when the town assembled once more before the chief, the chief was shocked to find that those he loved and trusted the most were not there. Instead, all the people he was most suspicious of were there along with the witch doctor.
Well, what really happened was that those who were not loyal to him disobeyed his wish for them to drink the poison. They weren’t loyal, so why should they do what the chief asked of them? And if the poison was going to harm them for their disloyalty, all the more reason not to drink from it! The loyal ones trusted the chief, and so they drank and perished. And the witch doctor, well, he knew all along that he was a fraud so he wasn’t going to drink either!
It turned out that the chief was not nearly as wise as he thought, and he paid dearly for it.
Many people consider themselves to be wise. I remember sitting in a Sunday school class one time and the teacher said “I have trouble operating under the assumption that I am incorrect.” True enough. Naturally, people think they are correct. We think that we know things. If someone thinks that they are incorrect, then they try to become correct as quickly as they can.
I’m no different. We all tend to operate under the assumption that we are correct. And many suppose that, being correct, that means that they have wisdom.
But, in fact, as we all know, not everyone is correct. People just think that they are correct.
And even less people have wisdom. And those who do have wisdom could have between one of two kinds of wisdom. There is wisdom that comes from above and there is wisdom that comes from below.
As we look in our passage in James today, we’ll see what heavenly wisdom looks like. I think it might surprise some.
Text: James 3:13-18
Theme: Pursue the Wisdom from Above
Verse 13
Like faith, wisdom is displayed through good works. Good works are the evidence of the presence of wisdom. This shows us that wisdom is not the same thing as intelligence or knowledge. You can have intelligence and do no good works. Most criminals aren’t intelligent, but some are highly intelligent. Some of the most intelligent people imaginable commit themselves to doing sinful things.
And you can have knowledge and do no good works. That happens easily enough by reading books in solitude all day. Or by supposing the knowledge and righteousness are the same thing.
But wisdom, wisdom has everything to do with your actions. Just read the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom. And notice: it’s not a collection of scientific facts or equations or historical facts, it’s a collection of good actions. Proverbs helps us to know and choose good actions.
Intelligence is one’s ability to learn. Knowledge is the accumulation of facts.
But wisdom, at least the heavenly kind, is knowing the good and knowing how to do the good. And because wisdom is knowing the good and knowing how to do the good, wisdom is meek, because meek is good. Intelligence and knowledge can become puffed up and abusive, but heavenly wisdom never does.
Intelligence is good. Knowledge is good. But if you have neither that is fine: the Lord treasures heavenly wisdom and that is much better for pleasing Him.
Link: I keep saying “heavenly” wisdom because as it turns out, there are two kinds of wisdom. James describes the negative kind of wisdom first.
Verse 14-16
There is another kind of wisdom which James calls “earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” This kind of wisdom is manifested most especially in bitter jealousy and selfishness. The fruit of this kind of wisdom is disorder and vile practices. Those are also warning signs that jealousy and selfishness are present.
It’s very fitting that this kind of wisdom is called demonic because bitter jealousy and selfish ambition were precisely the sins that ensnared the devil. Satan was once a sinless angel. He was the most powerful and good angel ever created. But he wasn’t satisfied with that. Satan became jealous of the God of the universe. He wanted the worship. He wanted to be like the Most High. He had selfish ambition to become more. In his selfish ambition to become like the Most High, he led many angels astray and led mankind astray as well. He was false to the truth and he introduced disorder and every vile practice into the universe.
This kind of wisdom knows the bad and knows how to do the bad. It is crafty and selfish. It can have an appearance of wisdom because often there is great intelligence and knowledge behind it, but it’s not the kind of wisdom that is honoring to God and it’s not the kind of wisdom that will improve your life.
There is a certain allure to this kind of wisdom. Adam and Eve fell for it. We are self-interested creatures and so we can become jealous of what other people have that we don’t have. Maybe they have better health or more money. Maybe the job they work is less stressful. Maybe they have more friends or a nicer house. Maybe they are more attractive. And so we think, “ah, if I could just have what they have. Then things would be better. Then I would be complete.”
And so we try to advance ourselves and put ourselves first. Other people are stepped on in the pursuit to advance self. Money, time, and attention are spent on advancing self.
But what comes of it all? Does jealousy and selfish ambition lead to happiness? After we get whatever we were jealous about, are we then made complete? Does the end of the road of selfish ambition lead to happiness? No, it doesn’t. It looks like it does when we look down that road.
It is like a mirage. When you look down the road of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, you see wonderful things at the end of that road: bright colors, sunshine, laughter. You see lots of things that you wish to have. But when you take that road, everything just gets uglier and darker. That beautiful house you saw on the road turns out to not be nearly as beautiful as you thought – but you can see another house, further down that road, which is as beautiful as you thought. And so you continue down the road.
It’s all a horrible trap. It all looks very wise. Intricate and intelligent plans and thoughts and knowledge are poured into it. But it just leads to disorder, vile practices, and the opposite of what was promised.
Link: the wisdom that is from below is selfish and it does not fulfill its promises. But the wisdom that is from above leads to good fruits and a better life.
Verses 17-18
Here once again we see that wisdom has to do with knowing the good and how to do the good. It is not the same thing as intelligence or knowledge. We don’t find a list of accomplishments or facts. Instead it is a list of good and desirable fruits.
Pure – the presence of good and godly things. And the absence of things displeasing to God.
Gentle – not combative with others, considerate, tries to avoid harming others physically or with words.
Open to reason – teachable, not prideful, does not demand their own way
Full of mercy – does not seek vengeance, does not hold grudges, does not go around trying to “give people what they deserve”
Good fruits – love, joy, peace, patience, good works, helping others, loving others
Impartial – consistent: loving your neighbor as yourself, not just those neighbors you prefer or stand to gain something from, treating people consistently according to the golden rule
Sincere – honest, truthful, mean what you say and say what you mean and fulfill your promises
A harvest of righteousness – conformity to God’s will, presence of godly character
Peace – harmonious relationships with other people, calm in the inner person
These things are what true wisdom looks like. Often times, the road of godly wisdom is a kind of mirage too. You look down the road of godly wisdom, down the road of love and selfishness, and you see that you decrease. Going down this road means you get significantly less of the things that you want and have to make many sacrifices. There is a cross at the beginning of this road that you have to pick up and carry on it. And the end of the road looks less happy and desirable than the path of selfish ambition and jealousy. But when you start down the road, things get more and more beautiful. The path becomes more colorful and vibrant. Love, joy, peace and happiness begin to fill your heart.
I think this is why the Bible says we are to walk by faith and not by sight. If you walk by sight, well, sight tells us that the way of jealousy and ambition is the way to get more of the things that we want. That road usually looks more appealing. But as everyone who has ever been down that road knows, things are not as they appear.
Rather, it is down the road of godliness, of heavenly wisdom, where true joy and hope and peace are found. But that is the road less traveled by and usually looks less appealing at first glance.
You have to trust God, that His ways are higher than our ways. And His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And when we do trust God and practice the wisdom that is from above, that wisdom does not disappoint.