What is true wisdom? (James 3:13-18)
Billy Milton - March 4, 2007
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Good morning! Well I hope you’re enjoying this series in James and appreciating the really practical advice that James is dishing out? Isn’t it obvious that James is a Pastor? His concerns are exactly those that seem to be concerns for every genuine Pastor that has ever lived. We might be more advanced technologically but human nature has never changed. For instance, last week Mary highlighted to us the problems that can result from an untamed tongue …and who hasn’t been hurt by an unguarded tongue? Does James avoid it in case he upsets the folks who struggle in this area? No he talks about it and I suppose this morning’s subject - wisdom - is actually a really practical way of putting a leash on the tongue. A wise person will not abuse others with their tongue.
In looking at the subject of wisdom James, as per usual, wants to make sure that his readers don’t make the mistake of treating this as a nice intellectual discussion that has no practical application. He introduces this second section of ch 3 with a thought provoking question. ‘Who is wise and understanding among you?’ and then immediately follows up this question with the challenge - show it! In boxing parlance I suppose that this would be called ‘the old one two’ - the jab followed by the knockout punch. “If you think you are wise… show it.” It’s a bit like the faith and works that Peter spoke of a couple of weeks ago, “If you say you’ve got faith – show me!”
Sadly, and often obviously, spiritual wisdom does not automatically come with age nor can it be learned from a library and a university degree does not equal wisdom. However, James tells us in v15 that there is a type of wisdom that is more readily available …but it’s not spiritual. Its, “earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.” He never minces his words, does he? This earthly wisdom takes little or no account of God. It approaches life as if the Almighty did not exist. It urges us to look after number one. It preaches the survival of the richest & fittest & the most attractive …and its rampant in our society today.
It’s proclaimed throughout our media and witnessed in our choice of icons – often people of little or no talent who are just famous for being famous. The wisdom of this age flies directly in the face of spiritual wisdom as exemplified by Jesus and we can’t just buy 100% into the wisdom of this day-and-age and hope to be effective as Christians.
James acknowledges the existence of this world’s wisdom but then he says that there is another type of wisdom that comes from God. This is the type of wisdom that he wants for all of us. If we have it then v17 tells us that it will be obvious because of the following 7 characteristics that the wise will exhibit in their lives:-
First of all, PURITY
Notice James says that the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. This implies that if a person is not pure then they will not have any of the other characteristics of true wisdom. We live in a society that is fast becoming hardened to the impurity around us. It’s beginning to feel like you can hardly sell a product without linking it to sex in some way. I read this week that the one word that is most commonly searched for on Google is ‘sex’ – in fact twice as often as its nearest rival which is ‘God’! I don’t really know what that’s saying about our modern society. Do you?
Which area of a leader’s life most often comes under attack? The area of purity. How many leaders in recent years have fallen at this hurdle? It might surprise you to know that 25% of all ministers who resign from the church do so because of sexual misconduct - when the purity goes so does their ministry! But its not just ministers who are tempted in this way, far from it. I want to address all the men here this morning because it’s most often men who struggle with this more than women, so we are told.
I want to ask you a very personal question. Guys, how do you behave when no-one is watching? On a business trip, do you give in to the pornography on the hotel television? Do you look for female company believing that you are strong enough to call a halt to things before they go too far? James calls that earthly wisdom. ‘No one will ever know’. ‘What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her’. Earthly, sensual wisdom!
Don’t do it guys! As a Christian man, make purity a priority in your life. Sort it out in your head before the temptation arises and then ask God to give you the strength to stand firm and to honour Him, and your partner, by being pure. Talk it over with your partner. Tell her about the pressures of being away from home and ask for her support.
And ladies, especially our young single ladies, the Bible is very clear that sex is a gift from God. It’s a wonderful gift designed to bring us pleasure, but in his wisdom God wants it to be enjoyed only within a loving marriage relationship. Earthly wisdom tells you that this is tosh… but we don’t live by earthly wisdom, do we? We desire heavenly wisdom that can only come through a pure lifestyle. As we witness an astronomical rise in sexually transmitted diseases, suddenly heavenly wisdom doesn’t seem so stupid anymore. First of all Purity.
The second element of Godly wisdom is that it’s PEACE LOVING.
One of the great and oft repeated promises from the Bible is that becoming a Christian brings you peace with God. Once an individual has received this peace from God they should then do their best to have a peaceable relationship with their fellow man. That might mean foregoing your own rights in a matter for the sake of peace or… it might mean making a stand on a particular issue for the sake of long-term peace. I’m not pretending that being a peace-lover is an easy option to put into action but it is a principle that we need to try and live by.
When I think of peace-loving I think of my mum and my dad. But their approach was a bit different and I learned so much from both of them in this regard. I remember a situation when a chap called RW joined our church – WEALTHY – CHARISMATIC – GENEROUS but badly flawed. In fact he ‘harboured bitter envy and selfish ambition in his heart’. Caused a lot of trouble but dad, who was an elder, was faced with the awful task of confronting this guy for the sake of the long-term peace of the whole church. It was messy and some awful things were said about my mum and dad but their response amazed me. Mum used to say, quoting Isaiah 42:3, “A bruised reed he will not break and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.” For the sake of the peace of the church they refused to get in involved in accusations and counter accusations instead leaving it up to God to justify them – which he did – but when it came to the long term peace of the church my dad was not prepared to let a proven trouble maker come in and disturb the peace of the whole body and so he went through a terrible time of personal abuse for the sake of the peace of the church. Peace is never weakness. It takes great strength to seek the way of peace. It reveals real wisdom when you make it a way of life.
CONSIDERATE
A wise person will be considerate. I love watching considerate people in action. By the way they behave they have a real ability to make other people feel important and valued. Considerate people notice if someone’s not got a seat or is sitting with the sun blinding them or have finished their tea or need to give others a bit of space. I’d like to be considerate and I do try but I don’t think I always succeed very well. You see I’m a naturally selfish person, but I’m not beating myself up about it because… so are you. I think we are all naturally considerate and so we need to work at being considerate.
One of the loveliest examples of consideration I have ever witnessed came from a little 3-year-old kid at toddler group. And let me assure you, toddlers are not noted for their consideration of other! Anyway, Jack was standing at the top of the slide getting ready to slide down when Maxine climbed on at the bottom and sat down, effectively blocking his way. Now most kids would have slid down and just bounced Maxine off the slide by force… but not Jack. He took one look at Maxine and said, “Ah Maxine, if only I could fly I wouldn’t have to ask you to move.” Next time you are tempted to steamroller someone who has got in your way… remember the wisdom of wee Jack.
SUBMISSIVE
Again this one flies in the face of perceived earthly wisdom. You’ll get nowhere today by being submissive. But Jesus was submissive! He prayed to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane - “Not my will, but yours be done.” To be submissive as a Christian is the determination to acknowledge Jesus Christ not only as Saviour but also as your Lord. This is what the wise person will do. They will let go of the reins of their life and let the Holy Spirit have complete control. This doesn’t mean that we then lapse into a robot like state of control but it should ensure that our actions are guided by heavenly wisdom. “Thy will be done.”
FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUIT
Basically James is saying here that spiritual wisdom will not remain in the head but will show itself in practical ways. Paul wrote the very same thing in Galatians 5 and James spoke of it in ch2 as well. There will be good fruit that issues from a life lived in a spiritually wise manner. It will be obvious to others so we don’t need to go about telling others how wise we are. They’ll see it flowing out of our lives.
And finally, IMPARTIAL AND SINCERE (or WITHOUT HYPOCRISY)
At the end of his sevenfold description of heavenly wisdom James takes us back to ch2 where favouritism was forbidden. Here it is again. Let me remind you what God said in 1 Samuel 16. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” It takes spiritual wisdom to see beyond the glitzy exterior and to value someone for who they are rather than just what they have achieved. And of course true wisdom is sincere, not hypocritical. It’s more than just a handshake and a smile on a Sunday.
Do you want to be counted wise? Here’s what you do: put into practice what James outlines here. The world might question your methods when you choose to follow spiritual wisdom but that’s not surprising when we bear in mind that the earthly type of wisdom has Satan as its figurehead. We are in a spiritual battle especially in the area of wisdom. But when we support each other we can prevail and reap a harvest of righteousness.