Wisdom from above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
4:1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
James 3:13–4:3; 4:7–8a (ESV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are continuing on our journey through the Book of James, picking up the end of chapter 3 and the start of chapter 4. Here, James describes for us what true wisdom is, and just how different worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom are.
Wisdom is peace
3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:13–18 (ESV)
Worldly wisdom and wisdom that comes down from above, godly wisdom, are two completely opposite things.
Ambition is something that is praised in our culture today. To be successful in your chosen profession, you have to put your needs above the needs of others. You need to have the confidence in your own ability to back yourself, to aim high, and to believe that you can be the best.
Think about professional footballers as an example. To pursue a career in footy and become a regular starter for an AFL side, you have to make incredible sacrifices. It starts with the parents who have to be willing to drive their child to Auskick and junior footy, starting with the local league and then working up to state and national competitions. Then, as the child becomes an adult, they have to keep their body in peak physical condition, watching their diet, limiting late nights, and spending hours and hours on the track and in the gym.
There are then plenty of players in state leagues that never make it to the AFL. Even if they do manage to get drafted, some never play a game. To become a 300-game superstar, you have to dedicate most of your waking hours to your own ability to play elite football.
Some of you are aware that I was asked to coordinate the worship services for General Pastors Conference. When I was first asked back in May, my first thought was one of selfish ambition. I wanted to say yes right away because having that title made me feel pretty good about myself. If that’s where I stayed, according to this word from James, it would’ve ended in “disorder and every vile practice” (v. 16).
Thankfully, the Holy Spirit has kept doing his work in me. The role has been more challenging and time-consuming than I thought, so I’ve been kept humble. There’s a very fine line between selfish ambition and humble service.
For some reason, across the church, we have fallen into thinking that the only way we can contribute to the community is to put our name down on the roster or take up a position on a committee. I know that some of you who are older struggle with this. You’ve done your time on rosters and committees, and it can feel like you can’t contribute like you used to, maybe even like you feel you should be. The same goes for young parents or professionals who just don’t have the time to commit to those kinds of things.
If we’re not careful, selfish ambition can get the better of us. We are disheartened because our name isn’t on a roster or committee. We might even be jealous of those that fill those positions, wishing we could serve in that way.
The wisdom that comes down from above shows us a different way.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:17–18 (ESV)
The most willing servants of the church, the wisest members of this congregation, are not so because they fill positions or do jobs. When we are people of peace, when we are gentle and open to what others might think, when we are able to be impartial and not take things personally, when we are genuine and sincere, then we are wise.
The peace in your soul and the gifts you’ve received from God might inspire you to get on a committee or sign up on the roster, but it might also lead you to simply be a person of peace in this community. From God’s perspective, our service is just an outcome of the peace that the Spirit gives.
Wisdom is peace.
Wisdom is asking
4:1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
James 4:1–3 (ESV)
There is plenty we are missing, both in our church and in our world.
With Synod only a week or so away, you’re well aware of the division and disunity in the church at the moment. But we are not the only ones suffering division—wars continue to rage all around the world, either with bullets and bombs or with words. The entire Western world has torn itself away from the Christian faith that has grounded it for centuries, leaving the faithful to fend for themselves.
Our world lacks unity. Our world lacks peace. Our world lacks love.
What does James say about this? “Don’t worry, it’ll all be OK”? “Don’t worry, it’ll be better in heaven”? No—he puts it on us.
“You do not have because you do not ask” (v. 2).
You can’t expect peace if you don’t ask God to bring it. You can’t expect an end to wars if you don’t ask God to resolve them. You can’t expect an end to poverty if you don’t ask to do something about it. You can’t expect your own damaged relationships to get better if you don’t ask God to intervene.
Like anything, you can’t expect a solution if all you do is complain. You don’t have because you don’t ask.
It sounds simple, but doing so requires wisdom that only comes from God.
James goes on to say that even when we do ask, we don’t receive because we ask wrongly, to spend it on our passions. You’ve all heard Jesus’ promise, “Whatever you ask for in my name, I will do…” (Jn. 14:13).
The natural follow-up question is always, “Then why didn’t he heal me when I asked? Why didn’t he deal with that person? Why didn’t I get that job when I asked?”
The hard truth is that God responds only to prayer that comes from a place of genuine humility and faith. Without even realising it, we can ask God for things that we want for our own benefit. His wisdom is way beyond what we can comprehend, so sometimes things that seem completely harsh and unloving can actually be in God’s best interest, and, therefore, ours.
This is why Jesus gave us His own prayer to pray. When we use His Word to pray, we know for sure that we make our requests to God with His heart and in His name.
So, wisdom is in asking. We can ask in the wrong way, and we need the Spirit to give us the wisdom to ask genuinely and faithfully, but if we’re even worse off if we don’t ask at all.
Wisdom is drawing near
4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
James 4:7–8a (ESV)
I find this image so helpful. The devil only has his own interests in mind. He’s like a salesperson—if you leave the door open for him to convince you, the danger of you handing your money over increases with every passing minute. If you shut the door from the get-go, making it clear that you are not interested, he won’t bother trying again.
When we baptise people, we tell the devil to get out and make room for the Holy Spirit. We also ask the question, “Do you reject the devil and all his works and all his ways?” We do that because, with that “I do,” he flees. Where there is true faith given by the Holy Spirit, he has no hope of winning us over. There is no room for him in our hearts.
At the same time, when we draw near to God, he draws near to us.
Think about the thief on the cross who repented of his sin. He makes a plea to Jesus, “Remember me in your kingdom.” He draws near to Jesus in that moment. And Jesus’ response? “Today, you’ll be with me in paradise.” Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Think about Mary, who, in her grief, went to the tomb to be near Jesus. As she cries, not knowing where his body has gone, Jesus draws near to her and speaks her name. In the process, she becomes the first witness of the resurrection. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Think about the apostle Peter after he denied Jesus three times and has lost all confidence in himself and in his faith. When they’re out fishing and he sees who he thinks is Jesus on the shore, he can’t draw near to Jesus quickly enough. And as they share breakfast, Jesus draws near to him, forgiving his sin three times for three denials, completely restoring him. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
The wisdom of God is not in our ability to live our lives. It is not in the strength of self-dependence and selfish ambition. The wisdom that comes from above is found in the peace of the Spirit, in asking God for what we need in Jesus’ name, and in drawing near to Him when all is lost.
May the peace which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen.
