There is a difference between worldly wisdom and godly wisdom. James is going to show us the difference today and he is going to tell us how to test which type of wisdom we're living by.
"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." (James 3:9) The Roman and Greek cultures of James's day valued wisdom above all else, but it was worldly wisdom. They valued higher learning, and there's nothing wrong with a college degree, but they placed more worth on secular education than on knowing and understanding God. Their scholars loved to debate each other and each debater's goal was to come up with such a brilliant answer that he rendered his opponent speechless. This is not how we are to use our understanding of the word of God. It's possible to use the word of God as a weapon to beat people down and to render them speechless and utterly discouraged. This is not God's idea of wisdom. God's idea of wisdom is to behave as James instructs, "by deeds done in humility".
It was typical for Greek and Roman scholars, and even sometimes the Jewish scholars and rabbis, to want to get ahead of each other and to be considered the preeminent scholar in his school of learning, in his synagogue, in his city, and so on. Some of these intelligent and highly educated men constantly tried to "one up" each other. This not only revealed the envy and selfishness in these men's hearts, but it actually caused those unhealthy qualities to grow. It fed their envy and selfish ambition. The more each of them watched and listened to the scholar he envied most, and the more he tried to be better than that man, the more unhappy he was with himself. James says this is worldly wisdom, not godly wisdom. "But if you harbor envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such 'wisdom' does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." (James 3:14-16)
James isn't saying ambition itself is a sin; he's saying selfish ambition is a sin. It's not a sin to work hard so that we can get a raise or promotion at our jobs. It's not a sin to further our education so we can provide better for our families. He's talking about the kind of ambition that causes us to look down on others and to want to be considered better than others. James knows what human nature is like and he knows that the apostles, preachers, and teachers are going to face the temptation of wanting to be considered the "top apostle" or the "most eloquent preacher" or the "smartest teacher". He's telling us that this kind of ambition doesn't belong in the church. If our brother or sister in Christ is considered the best Sunday school teacher in our church, instead of being jealous we ought to be happy for them. We ought to be thankful that God has graced our church with such a loving and understanding teacher. We have a duty as Christians to help our brothers and sisters be the best they can be. If someone else is a better Bible study blogger than I am (and most are better than I am, I'm sure), it doesn't make me less important to the Lord or less loved by the Lord simply because someone is more talented in this area than I am. We don't need to envy anyone's gifts. The Lord has given gifts to each of us and He has a plan and purpose for each of our lives. We don't need to try to "one up" anybody. This isn't a competition.
Now James shows us the difference in behavior when we allow godly wisdom to have its way in our lives. "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." (James 3:17-18) I'd much rather have people say I'm considerate and sincere than to have them say I'm selfish and envious. This is how we know whether we are living by the world's standards or living by God's standards. Our behavior is going to reveal where our hearts are. If we are always trying to be better than someone else, or if we are always enviously comparing ourselves to someone else, our hearts aren't where they should be and we need help from the Lord so we can interact with our fellow believers in the right spirit.
There is no reward for enviousness and selfishness, but there is a reward for being a peacemaker. "Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness." (James 3:18) Seeds are generally quite small. The plants that come up from the seeds are much larger than the seeds themselves. If we sow seeds of peace we are going to reap a whole harvest of peace. The opposite is also true; if we sow seeds of discord and strife we are going to reap a whole harvest of trouble. Which harvest would we rather have? We know which harvest the Lord would rather we have, for the Lord Jesus promised a blessing on peacemakers, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9) What better thing could anyone ever say about us than that we are children of God? What more could we want? What higher achievement is there? To be the children of God is the highest honor on earth or in heaven. We don't need to fight and backbite and try to get ahead of anyone else. God has already bestowed on us the greatest gift of all.
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