James 3:13–18 — two kinds of wisdom, and which one you have

Through James, part 13 · James 3:13–18

Show it (v. 13)

"Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom."

Wisdom is skill in living righteously — properly applying truth to everyday life. So our lives should demonstrate whatever wisdom we claim to have. If someone says he's wise enough to lead others, let him show it first in how he lives. True wisdom shows up in disciplined emotions, especially in anger, temper, and a sharp tongue. Godly leadership requires a man to have his tongue, emotions, and temper under control.

It's not the presence of knowledge that counts; it's the application of it. Wisdom isn't intellectual, it's behavioral. The biggest fool is the one who knows the truth and doesn't do it. Knowledge cuts the wood; wisdom is the architect and builder. And the hallmark of anyone truly wise is the genuine humility of Christ — gentleness that sets aside its own desires for someone else's.

Wisdom from below (vv. 14–16)

"But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don't boast and deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice."

"Envy" is contentious rivalry. "Selfish ambition" is the old word for electioneering — intriguing for office. Neither one looks anything like the gentleness in verse 13. This so-called wisdom exists to advance itself.

And James names its source: earthly (not from heaven), unspiritual (from man's lower nature, not the Spirit), demonic (it stoops to the behavior of demons). We have to be careful not to let the world's principles guide spiritual matters. Wherever you find envy and self-seeking you'll find confusion and disharmony, and the product of strife is always some kind of evil work. There is no progress where there's strife. The person who causes it stops everything.

Wisdom from above (v. 17)

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense."

Pure — clean in thought, word, and deed. Peace-loving — a wise man does everything he can to keep peace without sacrificing purity. Two goats meet on a narrow bridge over deep water; they can't back up and they don't dare fight, so one lies down and lets the other walk over him, and both cross. Be willing to be walked on for peace's sake — your person, never your conscience. Gentle — fair, forbearing, courteous; a gentleman who respects other people's feelings. Compliant — the old phrase is "easy to be entreated": approachable, open to reason, ready to give in when truth requires it. The opposite of adamant. Full of mercy — kind to the miserable and even to those in the wrong, with a desire to help them; no vindictiveness. Good fruits — it produces things. Unwavering — no favoritism. Without pretense — it doesn't wear a mask.

Does that list sound familiar? It's the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). It's the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1–12). The whole New Testament keeps returning to the same picture: a person walking in the Spirit. This is Jesus' desire for His followers.

Two portraits

The wise man is genuinely humble and esteems others above himself. He isn't influenced by the world and puts spiritual things ahead of physical. He lives clean, morally and spiritually. He's peaceable, and he endures insults and false accusations without retaliating. He's gentle, tenderhearted, open to reason and to other viewpoints, quick to forgive, habitually kind — especially to the undeserving — and he treats rich and poor exactly the same. He says what's true without a mask.

The worldly-wise man is full of envy and rivalry, determined to get ahead at others' expense, intolerant of competitors. He lives to satisfy his appetites. His methods are cruel and treacherous. He's polished on the outside and impure underneath — polluted thoughts, debased morals, unclean speech. Quarrelsome. Harsh, overbearing, rude. Hard to approach, impossible to reason with, unforgiving. He values people by what they can do for him and drops them when they can't. Two-faced.

Which one do you find yourself more like? What is your reputation? Your character and integrity are up to you. Your reputation is up to others — but it usually catches up with the first two.

Sown in peace (v. 18)

"And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace."

Fields aren't planted in the middle of a war. Godly wisdom is sown in peace and makes peace; the wisdom from below sows strife, bitterness, and confusion. The whole theme of the chapter is godly wisdom versus the wisdom of immature, ambitious leaders who left behind quick tempers, sharp tongues, and chaos. Godly wisdom leaves behind righteousness, and peace with it.

Seven questions

• Do I respect the proud people of the world more than the humble believer?
• Do I serve the Lord without caring who gets the credit?
• Do I use questionable means to get good results?
• Am I guilty of flattery to influence people?
• Do I harbor jealousy and resentment?
• Do I resort to sarcasm or unkind remarks?
• Am I pure in thought, speech, and morals?

An eighth question

Seven questions is plenty. Here's an eighth, and it sits underneath all of them: are you God's? Because the wisdom that's pure and peaceable and full of mercy comes down, from the Father, to His own children. If you've never been made one, you're working out of the other supply and trying harder doesn't change the source.

God dealt with that Himself. Jesus took the sin, died under it, and came up out of the grave on the third day, and He gives new life to whoever asks Him for it. Whosoever will. That's not a small group of qualified people. That's anybody reading this, in whatever chair you're in, in your own plain words.

If you already belong to Him, then take those seven questions somewhere quiet with a pen. Don't skim them. Answer them, one at a time, in writing. Then take the one that stung to somebody who knows you well and ask if they see it too. Fields don't get planted in the middle of a war. Neither does your character.

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