Faith Works - In Wisdom

James 3:13-18 NIV 

[13] Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. [14] But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. [15] Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. [16] For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. [17] But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. [18] Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.3.13-18.NIV)

I once worked for a university HR department. I didn’t stay long there: I didn’t suit HR and HR didn’t suit me. However, I did notice something quite interesting there: the number of complaints made against professors, particularly male, and particularly those in highly specialist positions.

What I saw was that there were people who were highly intelligent and absolutely brilliant in their field, but they were clearly as far from ‘people people’ as it was possible to be. Some of them had terrible management skills, a direct and somewhat harsh approach to their assistants. Some crossed the line into behaviour which was far from decent. 

It is a simple fact that no-one is good at everything. There are people who are so hyper-focused on one area of their life that everything else fades into insignificance. Such people often use people beneath them to reach their goals, and are so driven that they care little about what happens to them. 

Such people might be ‘book smart’, but they aren’t wise. 

I have also met people who really know how to survive and get what they want in their neighbourhood. They are safe wherever they go, and know precisely where not to go to stay safe. They know everyone and everyone knows them. 

They are ‘street smart’. 

But, at the same time, these people are often sucked into the relentless battle to survive. Some of the decisions they take are sometimes highly questionable. Many of them live in polarised situations, and are quick to see others from outside their setting as a threat or an enemy. 

That are ‘street smart’, but they aren’t wise. 

Not as far as the Bible is concerned. 

James has been a tough read so far. If Galatians was a luxurious theological hot tub, James is a theological cold shower: a roll in the snow and a plunge into a freezing pool that you know is good for you, but you have to hype yourself into doing. 

But now, after the sharp wake-up call of James 3:1-12, we seem to be in much easier verses. 

Don’t be fooled. This is still James. There is still a sting in the tale. 

We saw this earlier on in chapter 1: 

James 1:5 NIV 

[5] If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.5.NIV)

Now we see what that necessary wisdom looks like. 

Before I get into this any further, I need to tell you that the whole world needs this wisdom. You are about to see character traits and aspects of wisdom that are simply not present in many of our leaders. It’s very easy for us to criticise them. This meditation is not designed as a criticism of them. It’s not all their fault that we have allowed unwise leaders to rule over us – we voted for them! As we approach this passage, don’t look at it and think of unwise leaders, whoever they are. That would not be at all constructive. 

No, look at the character traits of a wise person and ask yourself if you are wise. That is constructive. That is helpful. 

That is how you will grow. 

Firstly, let’s look at The Need for Wisdom. 

The Need for Wisdom 

James 3:13 NIV 

[13] Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.3.13.NIV)

In 1991, the Christian rock band Bride sung about how ‘We’re living in troubled times’. 1991!

Two years after the Berlin Wall fell. After God reordered world powers and destroyed European communism.  

Troubled times? They could re-release that song and let me tell you every one of us would be singing along. Our times are still troubled. Our minds are still befuddled. There are so many in this world who are grasping for hope like a blind man in a darkened room and they have never felt so lost and alone as they are now.  

And frightened? I don’t think the western world has seen fear like it. Not since the Cold War.

James knew better than anyone what troubled times look like. He lived through the days when persecution against the early church was not inconvenient or difficult but absolutely savage in its ferocity – like nothing most of us will ever experience in our lifetime, God willing. He had witnessed church leaders dragged to court, sentenced to death and murdered as if they were enemies of the state. He had seen church members deprived of their livelihood, deprived of their homes, deprived of their liberty, deprived of their lives. He had seen them flee from one place to another just to stay alive. 

But here’s the thing: his earthly half brother had warned them it would happen (Matthew 24). 

So if today, you are facing trouble and terror and you don’t fully understand what’s happening, I want you to know just four essential truths. 

Firstly. Jesus knows. He knows! He knew even before it happened! 

Secondly, Jesus cares. He cares! Maybe today you need to know these beautiful verses: 

Luke 12:6-7 NIV 

[6] Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. [7] Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.12.6-7.NIV)

If your heart is burdened, so is His. If your heart is breaking, so is His. If your body is broken and bleeding, so was His. Jesus knows how you feel and Jesus cares. 

Thirdly, Jesus has overcome. He has overcome! 

John 16:33 NIV 

[33]  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.16.33.NIV)

They might bend you. They might break you. But they will not end you, because Jesus has overcome the world. The worst they can do is kill you, but they cannot take your life because it is in the palm of His hands, and He will hold on fast until He will bear it to Heaven. 

Fourthly, Jesus will guide you. He will guide you! Jesus spoke these words to His disciples: 

Matthew 10:16 NIV 

[16]  “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.10.16.NIV)

We need wisdom to guide us through these troubled times. The bigger the trouble, the greater the wisdom you need. And what did James say? God has that wisdom. All we need to do is pray for it and believe that He will give us it, and we will receive it. 

But what kind of wisdom? 

For years, we have turned aside to boastful ‘wise guys’ who have wooed us with the words we have wanted to hear. We have traded doctors for historians, experienced politicians for angry rebels, technocrats for drinking buddies. And where has it got us? Look around you and tell me: where had it got us? 

Trusting in all those obscene loudmouths, where are we now? 

James here lays down the foundations for what real wisdom looks like. 

It’s about deeds, not words. 

When our politicians stand in front of us and make a speech, they didn’t write it. They have a team of professional speechwriters behind the scenes who wrote it for them.  

It isn’t hard to fake wisdom. It isn’t hard to seem wise. Actors do it a the time. We shouldn’t let ourselves be deceived. Wisdom is about what people do, not what they say. It’s about how they live. 

In James’ day, as the church was emerging and growing at a phenomenal rate, this was happening: 

Matthew 11:12 NIV 

[12] From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.11.12.NIV)

Con-men and shysters and tricksters were trying their best to ride the wave of Christian popularity for their own ends. People of dubious character were trying to lead their own wing of the church so they could become powerful. 

Does anything seem familiar? 

James tells us here that if we want to be seen as wise or understanding, if we want to lead, then our faith has to show itself in works. Our walk must match our talk. 

It’s to our shame that we have been taken in lately by smooth talkers whose private lives have been nothing less than a moral car crash, or by violent men who seem to be singing our tune. We must learn from our mistakes. Don’t be hypnotised by their words – check their lives. 

But realise that others will check our your deeds too. 

James also tells us that it’s about humility, not pride. 

Folly needs a billboard; true wisdom does not need to advertise. The old saying that empty vessels make the most noise has never been more true.  

Think about it: do truly wise people ever care about their reputation? They don’t need to – they are already wise! Their reputation speaks for itself. 

Do truly wise people need to break others to get ahead? They don’t need to – their wisdom means that they are already ahead! 

Wise Solomon wrote these words: 

Proverbs 11:2 NIV 

[2] When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/pro.11.2.NIV)

The word translated as ‘humility’ in the NIV can also be translated as ‘gentleness’. What does this mean? That brash, loudmouthed, cruel, heartless and careless people are not wise, no matter who they are and no matter what, or who, they claim to know. Instead, careful, gentle, humble people are those who are wise. 

Why?  

Because they realise that the more they know, the more the realise they don’t know, and it humbles them. They are also careful to not lose what they already have. 

Do you see now why it is we need wisdom? Do you also see the type of wisdom we need? 

Are you crying out for someone to show that kind of wisdom? Maybe you could be the answer to your own call. 

After the need for wisdom, James goes on to tell us What Wisdom Isn’t. 

What Wisdom Isn’t  

James 3:14-16 NIV 

[14] But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. [15] Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. [16] For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.3.14-16.NIV)

There was a huge scandal after some very unfortunate events in a small holiday town in Laos. A number of tourists were poisoned with methanol,  and six died, due to fake alcoholic drinks.  

That is, of course, very sad. However, James here is talking about something equally as insidious: fake wisdom that poisons. 

Again, he sheds light on aspects of our personality that makes us feel very uncomfortable. 

James mentions two traits of fake wisdom. The first of these is bitter envy. In other words, rivalry and resentment purely driven by a sense of being ‘hard done by’, or a lack of forgiveness, or the presence of inherent bias. It carries with it the sense of being harsh. 

In fact, the same word is used in the previous passage we examined in James: 

James 3:11 NIV 

[11] Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.3.11.NIV)

Remember what we saw there. We saw that if we harbour bitterness and resentment towards someone else, then we are unable to truly worship God on Spirit and in truth. 

Hebrews also uses a similar word here: 

Hebrews 12:15 NIV 

[15] See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.12.15.NIV)

In all of its sixty-six books, the Bible has nothing good whatsoever to say about bitterness. It is an entirely negative, destructive emotion. If we feel it towards someone else, it’s not their responsibility to deal with the cause, it’s our responsibility to deal with the emotion.

Why?

Because it doesn’t affect them at all. It only affects us. We are allowing them to stay rent-free in our minds. We need to deal with it – and fast. 

James says that no wisdom comes from bitterness, and he is right. Envy itself is wrong. Envy driven by a bitter feeling that drives you to seek someone else’s harm is even more wrong.

If that’s how you feel, you must be rid of it as soon as possible. 

James also takes about selfish ambition. 

This is not just about those who are driven to build a nice career for themselves. It means much more than that. The word used here refers to those who are politicking: they are seeking high office or high position and are not against using dirty, underhand tricks to get there. In James' mind, there is no sense at all that the end justifies the means: this kind of dirty ambition is completely barred, without question. 

More than that, James said that it isn’t wise. 

Why is it not wise? 

Because it is earthly, unspiritual, demonic, and a promoter of disorder and every evil practice. 

Anyone claiming to be a Christian should not be anywhere near this, and even less so in the church. 

People who behave like this are often lauded as high achievers in our culture. They may well have a healthy bank balance and an arrogant, boastful attitude.  

That should make no difference to us. Their behaviour is unwise. The Bible teaches that it will rebound on them in the end (Psalm 73). 

So, having seen that wisdom is absolutely needed and that the worldly model of wisdom is completely wrong, we bow turn to What Wisdom Is. 

What Wisdom Is 

James 3:17-18 NIV 

[17] But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. [18] Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.3.17-18.NIV)

Anyone who has travelled pretty much anywhere will have heard the often-repeated maxim of ‘Don’t drink the water’. The reason is that it might not be what we are used to and may cause a negative reaction in our digestive system. 

When we see how people think and react, we might say about this world that it’s better not to take in their wisdom, like a traveller avoiding the local water supply. If we do, there will be a reaction in our spirit, and it will not be positive. 

Here James portrayed what heavenly wisdom is like. This is Christian wisdom in the truest sense because it’s clearly modelled on Christ. 

This nature is pure. It is sincere. It has no angles. It has no ulterior motives. It has no agenda. What you see is what you get. That much is clear. 

In fact, I see much of this wisdom reflected in the fruit of the Spirit: 

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV 

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gal.5.22-23.NIV)

Do you see the parallels? If we say ‘No’ to the flesh – to our own wrong desires – and ‘Yes’ to the Spirit, then we gain wisdom. We become wise. 

And that wisdom brings with it love. And with love, a desire for peace. Not just ‘peace and quiet’, but full blown shalom: total and complete well-being. True wisdom is not a means to our end, but a means to peace. It is a means to well-being for everyone. 

That peace-seeking and peace-making then, in the end, produces righteousness. It produces fairness. It produces justice. 

It produces the kind of community and society in which we all want to live. 

But we have to go back to the start of what James said this wisdom is like. We cannot gain peace and well-being and righteousness and justice if we are wily rather than wise. If we are looking to manipulate other people so we come out on top, if we are working to achieve our own agenda, if we are determined to climb the ladder of souls and we care little for those on whom we stand as we journey upwards, then we are not wise. We will deprive ourselves of the peace and well-being we so badly crave. Righteousness and justice will be strangers to us. 

James’ teaching on wisdom might be a lot calmer and seemingly more reasonable than his blast at our use of speech and our tongue, but there is a sizeable sting in the tail. If we want to be truly wise, we may have to change a great deal of how we are living now. 

It won’t be easy. It will take a lot of faith. But if we are willing, this is one end that always justifies the means. 

Conclusion 

James 3:13 NIV 

[13] Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.3.13.NIV)

Having lived through the Covid pandemic, there is one verse that springs to mind which  precisely describes what happened: 

2 Timothy 4:3 NIV 

[3] For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/2ti.4.3.NIV)

I was utterly appalled at how readily people accepted narratives, without any coherent evidence, from people who lacked any qualifications to be commenting on what was happening. 

The thing is, it’s still happening now. People readily disregard the words of specialists and experts if they do not fit in with how they see the world. Yet it is painfully and readily obvious where such thinking has led us.  

We should not be at all surprised. For decades, people have been throwing off the Divine wisdom of the Word of God – and there is no-one more expert in the world He created than God Himself. It stands to reason, therefore, that human experts will also be disregarded. 

At the same time, our world is declining at such an astonishing rate that people are desperate for someone to be wise: to explain all that is happening and to fix it. We need someone to guide us out of the darkness and into the light. Our leaders and politicians are not capable enough to do it. That much is very clear.  

So where can we find wisdom like that? 

Let’s go back to what James said earlier: 

James 1:5 NIV 

[5] If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.5.NIV)

God is the source of that wisdom. 

James is often likened to the Old Testament book of Proverbs, and there we see these famous verses: 

Proverbs 3:5-8 NIV 

[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. [7] Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. [8] This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/pro.3.5-8.NIV)

And again: 

Proverbs 9:10 NIV 

[10] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/pro.9.10.NIV)

The Bible could not be clearer on what true wisdom looks like. No-one can dispute the incredible need for wisdom. We have seen what it is not – which is, if we are honest, everything many of our leaders are. We have also seen what it is and does. 

There are some quite astonishing verses in Romans: 

Romans 8:18-21 NIV 

[18] I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. [19] For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. [20] For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.8.18-21.NIV)

Do you know what these verses mean? 

The whole world is longing to find out who are the true children of God. It longs for our true identity to be revealed! 

Why? 

Because in the Gospel we have all the answers to life’s questions. We have the wisdom they need. 

But here’s the thing: will they believe us? Is our message and our witness credible? 

It is if we have chosen to live our lives by God’s standards of wisdom. If not, then our actions will drown out our words. 

The world does not need ‘book-smart’ wisdom. It does not need ‘street-smart’ wisdom. It has plenty of these over the years and they haven’t done much good. 

It needs ‘God-smart’ wisdom. That wisdom does not require academic excellence or deep experience or a knowledge of the streets. What it needs is a knowledge of God’s Word and obedience to it. 

So tell me, brothers and sisters, how wise are you? 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, I commit myself here and now to pursue true wisdom. Like Solomon, I confess that it is the only way I can meet the responsibilities and demands I face. I will obey You. Teach me how to live, I pray. Amen. 

Questions for Contemplation

• Why was wisdom important to James and the first century church? Is it as important to you? Why / why not? 

• What does true wisdom look like? Which Bible character does this resemble the most and why? 

• How can you increase in wisdom? Are you willing to do it?