2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
There are times when we must deal with the question: What is the measure of a wise person? We all have our opinions on how to answer this question, but they don’t always agree. Anyone who has raised a child through the teen years knows that there is a stage which they reach, often at about age seventeen, when your child feels he has all the answers, and you know nothing. Frankly, I had that attitude myself at that age. It was only later that I began to realize how little I know. The older I get, the more I realize how much there is for me to learn. Perhaps, that is why no matter how much teaching I may do, I will always be a student. There are three kinds of knowledge, and there are no rule that says that if a person has one kind, they have all three. 1) There is academic knowledge, frequently referred to as “book-learning.” 2) There is common sense, often referred to as what you get “from the college of hard knocks.” 3) There is knowledge acquired directly from God through the Holy Spirit. All three kinds are important, but if I were to be asked to choose one out of the three, I would rather have knowledge from God than any other.
You’ll notice that I’ve only mentioned knowledge at this point. That is because I want to think of it as raw data, information which has not been processed in any way. Before anything like wisdom can come into the picture, it is necessary to understand what that knowledge means. That takes some time and possibly some digging. It also means the ability to see possible relationships between units of raw data. All too often, we react to something we find out without taking the time to find out what it really means. We all know that can lead to trouble like appearing stupid, unnecessary arguments, and/or inappropriate behavior. Now, you may ask: What about wisdom? Wisdom is a person’s ability to take his knowledge and understanding and apply it in his life. James makes the distinction between wisdom from heaven verses wisdom from Satan in JAS 3: 13-18, and that’s the passage we will look at today.
Our parent-apostle speaks plainly once again in JAS 3: 13-14. “Is there anyone among you who is wise and understanding? He is to prove it by his good life, by his good deeds performed with humility and wisdom. But if in hour heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, do not sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom.” What undergirds James’ understanding here is found in MT 11: 19, 1 COR 1: 30, and GA 5: 22-23, so let’s look at these citations. MT 11: 19, “When the Son of Man came, He ate and drank, and everyone said, ‘Look at this Man! He is a glutton and wine-drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!’ God’s wisdom, however, is shown to be true by its results.” 1 COR 1: 30, “But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By Him we are put right with God; we become God’s holy people and are set free.” GA 5: 22-23, “But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. There is no law against things such as these.” We can see that if what is listed in the last citation comes from God, then where else could jealously, bitterness, boasting about things not of God, and selfishness come from but the adversary? The latter are things that God detests. Those things never lead to mankind’s edification or to solving the woes that beset people. They are destructive, not constructive as the things of God are. In JAS 3: 14-15, our parent-apostle makes it clear where these negative traits have their origin. They are “unspiritual and demonic,” he says. They produce “disorder and every kind of evil.”
James wants us to see the enormous contrast between the fruit produced of these evil emotions and that produced from Godly ones. JAS 3: 17-18, “But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.” RO 2 deals with God’s judgment. I mention this because of how it exposes the hypocrisy of the traditional Jews and compares them unfavorably to the Gentiles who came to faith in Paul’s time. Traditional Jews were asserting that they were more righteous and acceptable to God because their males were circumcised, they adhered to the rituals of their faith like keeping a kosher regime, and they were physical descendants of Abraham. Now see what Paul says in response to their arguments in RO 2: 14-16. “The Gentiles do not have the Law; but whenever they do by instinct what the Law commands, they are their own law, even through they do not have the Law. Their conduct shows that what the Law commands is written in their hearts. Their consciences also show that this is true, since their thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them. And so, according to the Good News I preach, this is how it will be on the Day when God through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all.” Paul’s explanation of the difference between wisdom from heaven and that from Satan is in complete agreement with that of James. It is aptly stated in RO 2: 29, “Rather, a real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God’s Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives his praise from God, not from man.”
Our parent-apostle asks us to examine the content of our heart-attitude. He also asks us to look at various problems between people in our lives to expose the nature of the wisdom (or I would like to say in some cases, lack thereof) that is exhibited. When we take the time to do this, we learn more about ourselves. This kind of soul-searching can allow us to expose subtle forms of sin in our lives. We all know that is something God wants us to do, so we can get rid of it. Even if we don’t find sin in our heart-attitude, going through the soul-searching process is good for us. One can be comforted in knowing that even when tempted to act in wisdom from Satan, he didn’t give into it. We must always be aware of the thin-line between righteousness and self-righteousness and avoid stepping across that line.
PRAYER: O Lord, through James’ writing You ask us to examine our heart-attitude and our behavior toward others. This is not always easy and sometimes can bring painful truths home to us. We are grateful that through James’ plain speaking, we can see the real origin of the attitudes we hold. In reaching closer to Your lofty perspective, we are forced to see the fruits, be they constructive or destructive, of our words and actions. The evil that comes from breaking Your commands can be devastating to ourselves and to others around us. One example of Your remarkable compassion for us is the example You give us through Jesus Christ. By modeling our lives after His, we can break through the bonds of Satan’s wisdom and be victorious in the process of sanctification. Your love for us extends to wanting us to share eternal joy and fellowship with You. We thank You for making the way for this possible and for the guidance You give us through our parent-apostle, James. In Christ’s holy name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at James’ writing. The next section deals with friendship with the world and its consequences. There are times when it is really tough to be a committed Christian. We are asked to travel a path that puts us in opposition with the mainstream of the society in which we live. And yet, God equips us to do this if we will only take the time to allow Him to reveal Himself to us and obey His commands.
Be comforted in knowing that Your Lord’s love for you is consistent and complete. It is something upon which we can always count. Peter and I also send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Throughout Your Lives,
Lynn