True and False Wisdom (James 3:13-17)

I suppose it could be said that the recent delivery of the Budget by the Chancellor was not an expression of wisdom. It could also be said that President Obama’s comment a while ago that Isis were an insignificant organisation when he pulled American troops out of Iraq is now seen as a foolish statement. Perhaps we might say the same of Margaret Thatcher’s comment that there is no such thing as society. The outcome of those decisions is chaos and terrible disorder at many levels.

James is contrasting true and false wisdom. Normally, when we think of wisdom we have in mind an ability to know what is best to do in a given situation. Yet Biblical wisdom is more than knowing what is the right thing to do in a situation. Instead, it describes a way of life and in the Book of Proverbs we see that true wisdom is contrasted with foolish behaviour. Is it possible for a wise person to become foolish? The Bible says that it is, and its example is the wisest of the kings of Israel, Solomon, who began his reign wisely and closed it foolishly.

James begins this short passage by answering his own question. A wise person shows he has spiritual understanding by the way he lives. The word ‘good’ in verse 13 points to something that is lovely to look at, very attractive to observe, something that causes devout aspirations in those who observe it. It does not repel. Sometimes we meet a Christian who is like this and our response is, ‘I would love to be like him or her.’

The basic quality of wisdom is gentleness, or meekness as it is called in verse 13. Gentleness, as we know, covers our thinking, our words and our actions. A person who thinks aggressively will never be wise as long as he thinks in that manner. Similarly, a person who speaks aggressively will soon reveal his lack of wisdom, and a person who acts aggressively will immediately reveal his lack of wisdom.

It has been pointed out often that meekness or gentleness marked the character of the Saviour. He described himself as gentle and lowly in heart. It might be worth reminding ourselves of verses in the Bible that highlight the necessity of meekness or gentleness. So here are three. Paul reminded the Galatians that meekness was necessary when dealing with the fallen: ‘Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted’ (Gal. 6:1). Peter informed his readers that meekness was needed when explaining the faith to others: ‘but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.’ Jesus made a great promise regarding the meek when he said, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’ (Matt. 5:5), which is a quotation from Psalm 37:11: ‘But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.’

It is interesting that James says that a wise person will show his works ‘in’ and not ‘by’ the meekness of wisdom. The use of the word ‘in’ points to the atmosphere in which such a person lives. Whenever he is encountered, he is found to be be in a gentle frame of mind. Because he has that feature to who he is, other people will assume that he will behave wisely. The atmosphere so described will contain more than gentleness, as we shall see, but gentleness is indispensable for a valid Christian life.

Yet James also indicates that some of God’s people had the wrong kind of wisdom at this stage in their lives. We know that he was writing to Christians who were being persecuted for the faith, and we can see how wrong wisdom could make suggestions about trying to avoid the pain by not confessing they were followers of Jesus. Yet his concern is connected to what he calls bitter jealousy and selfish ambition – perhaps there were accusations against Christians who had not suffered, and maybe they were making use of the situations to their own advantage.

Wisdom from below

Paul refers to the sinful behaviour as a form of wisdom, which is a reminder that some people acted in this way. It was a false wisdom, but those who used it would have tried to justify their behaviour.

The location of false wisdom begins in the heart and we can see that one expression of it – jealousy – concerns what a person thinks of others and that the other expression of it – selfish ambition – concerns what a person thinks of himself. Most people spend their time thinking about themselves and others whereas a Christian will think of someone else, and that is God. So we can deduce that the basic problem of false wisdom is that it leaves God out of the picture.

How does this work out in practice? James says that he knows about the boastingthat some were engaged in, which means that they were engaged in promoting their own version of how they saw the situation. He connects it to forms of words, which could be spoken or written, but which are expressions of boasting. We should not forget that James has been writing about the wrong use of the tongue, but I think in today’s world we can also include other forms of communication that have the same effect.

Here are some scenarios that have happened frequently, and which can be seen in biblical situations.

A person who is jealous of another Christian may cast some aspersions about them that leads to other people thinking less of that Christian, and may even try and destroy that person’s reputation. Paul experienced this from believers when he was in custody in Rome.

A person who is fuelled by selfish ambition may attempt to force his illegitimate authority on other people – we have an example of such a person in Diotrophes, mentioned in 3 John, who opposed the instructions of the apostle (the apostle did have authority, as he says he intended to use).

Was Abraham wise when he asked his wife to pretend that she was only his sister? He was marked by selfishness when he did so, and the consequences were potentially dangerous for Sarah and even for Abraham. The very surprising aspect of this sin is that he repeated it, with many years between the occasions, which is a reminder that we can repeat wrong behaviour.

Was Peter showing wisdom when he strongly disagreed with Jesus about his intention to go to the cross? The future apostle was informed that his speech was influenced by the devil, even although he had preceded that wrong comments with a profound insight given to him by God.

Were the Christians in Corinth wise when they started to follow individuals and cause divisions in the congregation? Were they wise when they engaged in social practices that denied the spirituality of the Lord’s Supper? Were they wise in tolerating sins that the outside world would not have allowed?

If the wisdom came from above, it would inevitably think of God. The alternative form of wisdom, in contrast, shares three features – it is earthly, unspiritual and demonic – and therefore take no account of what God has revealed about life in his Word. The description of wrong wisdom is similar to the common trilogy of spiritual enemies – the world, the flesh and the devil – that a Christian encounters. Here is an example of such wisdom – ‘do your own thing,’ and ignore what God says about something. The world admires such independence, the flesh is proud of such independence, and the devil encourages such independence. But God regards it as folly if what is done is against his commandments.

One commentator summarises the work of the devil in this way: ‘When the devil speaks the lie, it is bad. When he uses the world to perpetrate the lie, it is worse. But when the members of the church become his instruments to spread devilish wisdom, it is the worst of all situations. The letter of James leaves the impression that the devil employed some of the members of the church.’

What is the outcome? James says that there will be chaos and sinful living. Churches have been divided when such false wisdom has been expressed. It has often been pointed out that the Churches in Scotland in the nineteenth century were marked by these two features of envy and selfish ambition. There were three big denominations – the Free Church, the United Presbyterian Church and the Church of Scotland – and each was jealous of the others and each was ambitious for worldly credibility which they pursued by encouraging their trainee ministers to engage in the Higher Critical studies in Germany. What has been the outcome? Scotland has gone from being a Christian nation renowned for its spirituality to being the most secular nation in the world.

Was Barnabas displaying wisdom when he insisted that his relation Mark should accompany him and Paul as they prepared for their second missionary journey. Who was stoking the wishes of the gentle, compassionate Barnabas and led him to act so out of character? The devil was trying to disrupt the spread of the gospel and the unity of the church. There was a sharp contention, and the outcome was divisive. Of course, God over-ruled, but damage was done.

Wisdom from above

James mentions seven features of heavenly wisdom. There are some comments that are straightforward, and which don’t require any expansion. First, the obvious example of wisdom in practice is Jesus, and we are told that increasing in wisdom was the way that people described him as a child and teenager. His hometown people marvelled at his wisdom. If we were to rephrase verse 17 and say that Jesus ‘is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere,’ we would have an accurate description of his life. Christlikeness includes becoming like this.

Second, the features mentioned in verse 17 are visible and are relational. An individual cannot be a secret wise person, nor can he be an isolated wise person. Wisdom by definition involves sharing with and interacting with others. This wisdom can be described as loving his neighbour.

Third, we are to remind ourselves of what James says in 1:5, which is that we can ask God to give us this wisdom in a generous manner, which implies sufficiency so that we should always know what to do in a situation. So if I am not wise, it indicates that there is something wrong with my prayer life.

As far as the seven features of true wisdom are concerned, James seems to indicate that purity is the basic feature upon which the others will grow. Purity is more than ceasing from wrong practices. Jesus spoke about the pure in heart who see God. This does not mean obtaining a visible sight of him. Instead it describes a person who is in contact with God, and whose heart, although still affected by sin, has been changed. Peter reminds us that a pure heart is the consequence of regeneration: ‘Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God’ (1 Pet. 1:22-23). James is indicating that without conversion a person cannot have spiritual wisdom.

The remaining six features are obvious in their meaning. Remember James is describing a consistent and not an occasional way of life. All of them are expressions of brotherly love. What would the history of the Christian church have been if this had been the consistent outlook of its leaders and members? Of course, James expects all of them to be part of our lives, perhaps like the way the segments in an orange together point to the perfection of the fruit. This verse is a good verse to use in self-examination as we approach the Lord’s Supper this weekend. We can take it and ask ourselves in God’s presence if these features have marked our behaviour and our words.

What is the point of wise living? James says in verse 17 that wisdom is concerned with producing a future harvest of righteousness. There is only one way to obtain that harvest and that is the environment of peace. The six features of true wisdom are expressions of a peaceful heart and life. Without them, there will be no harvest.