Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:13-18
Left to our own devices, we make a mess of things. I thought about writing “can make a mess of things” but we all know it is more inevitable than the word “can” implies. Though, if it makes you feel any better, this didn’t start with us. Adam and Eve were the first ones to leave God and search for wisdom on their own. Remember how Eve looked at the trees — at all of creation — and said to herself how they were useful to her for gaining wisdom (Gen 3:6)? I sometimes look at that moment and wonder about her thought process. I wonder what was in her nature — the very core of her being — that caused her to search for wisdom in the trees when God’s wisdom was available to her every day when God walked with them in the cool of the garden.
The wisdom for which Eve left God is, according to James, earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. And left to our own devices, that is the wisdom upon which we rely. Let that sink in for a minute. It isn’t just those children living in their terrible twos who are little demons; we are all born to a lifetime of demonic thoughts. According to James such wisdom produces disorder and every vile practice.
I’m not sure about you, but when I look at the results of the choices I’ve made while under the weight of earthly wisdom I see only disorder and vileness. I’d love to blame someone else, but I can’t. I did it on my own, and in my heart is only jealousy and selfish ambition. And it was the same for Adam and Eve. The serpent only put into words that which was already in their hearts; they wanted to be like God and decide for themselves what was good and evil. They were tired of being subservient; they wanted to be autonomous. They were jealous of God’s position and his wisdom; they wanted the whole kit-and-kaboodle for themselves. That also sounds like jealousy and selfish ambition, doesn’t it? But it was also the same for Lucifer. Did he God’s glory for himself? Did he not want God’s position? Wasn’t he willing to give up his control of this world if only Jesus worshipped him? He wanted to be The Man! Lo and behold: jealousy and selfish ambition once again.
We — you and me and Adam and Eve and Lucifer — make a mess of things because we don’t look to God for the good and perfect gift of his wisdom. We want the right to do it all on our own; it’s all jealousy and selfish ambition from start to finish.
In James 3:1-12 we saw a somewhat bleak picture of our ability to control our tongues, and now we see in James 3:13-18 that our hearts, left on their own are filled with jealousy and selfish ambition. But James’s letter doesn’t end there. He offers us hope by telling us about “the wisdom that comes down from above.” Now, if this sounds familiar to you, it’s because James mentioned it earlier when he wrote about God’s good and perfect gift from above — God’s word of truth (James 1:16-18). Remember also that God’s word of truth is the way in which God makes us into a kind of firstfruits of his creation. This seems like another matching layer of this sandwich we call the letter of James!
When James wrote the words in the first half of this layer (James 1:16-18), they were in the context of saying how temptations to sin come from our own desires. In other words, God’s good and perfect gift — his word of truth — is an antidote to our own sinful temptations. And in the following words (James 1:19-21), James wrote about how the quick-speaking, angry man is not righteous. It wasn’t just temptations in general, but James knew that of all the temptations we have, controlling the tongue is the most difficult to avoid.
And so now in the second half of this layer (James 3:13-18), James tells us that the good and perfect gift from above — God’s word of truth — is God’s wisdom. This is the very wisdom Adam and Eve rejected in the garden, the wisdom Lucifer despises, and the wisdom we need but do not have. Our wisdom is rooted in jealousy and selfish ambition, but God’s wisdom is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17). Our wisdom produces disorder and every vile practice, but God’s wisdom produces “a harvest of righteousness…sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18). Our wisdom is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic,” but God’s wisdom is a good and perfect gift from above. And it is only with God’s wisdom that we are able to battle temptations and control our tongue.
But controlling our tongue doesn’t just mean keeping quiet. When James wrote that the tongue “sets on fire the entire course of life” he meant that a harsh word, a cutting tone, an angry reply can cause more damage than can be undone. Our tongue not only sets on fire the entire course of our life, but it can burn down the life of another. James’s words echo something we find in Proverbs 15:1-2, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.” Silence isn’t what Proverbs suggests. Rather we are encouraged to speak softly and with knowledge. Space does not allow for a deep study of Proverbs, but even the writer of Proverbs does not suggest that we have the power to speak softly on our own. It is the wisdom of God — his word of truth — that gives us the power to respond softly all the time; this is what James intends for us. When we receive God’s wisdom from above we gain meek mouths that can settle tensions and make peace. We speak; we do not keep silent. Earthly wisdom produces “disorder and every vile practice,” but God’s wisdom from above produces a “harvest of righteousness sown in peace.” But making peace isn’t the only harvest of righteousness brought about by the regenerated tongue.
It was only after I read this passage a number of times before I thought of the beatitudes where Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Jesus was saying that children of the Father act like the Father; they make peace. Certainly making peace with our words is a harvest of righteousness, but another harvest for us is the fact by making peace we are identified as the children of God. When God’s peace flows from our mouths we are indicating to the world that we have been changed by God’s wisdom from above. This is James’s point. By “receiving with meekness the implanted word” (James 1:21) our souls are saved, our hearts are purified, and we become children of God. What a wonderful second harvest! But wait, there’s more. There is yet another harvest of righteousness, but this one requires something of us.
Recall that I suggested the heart of this great big sandwich called the book of James is found in James 1:26-2:17 where James tells us that true religion is “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). Our faith must work itself out by loving others — by keeping the royal command. Sure, our faith must remain unstained by the world — we must not let the ways and wisdom of the world mar us — but we must also show love for one another; we must become workers helping bring in the harvest.
In John 4 we find the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. Jesus, a Jew, could have easily been harsh with this Samaritan woman living in sin. But Jesus spoke to her, and he spoke kindly. Contrary to how some people may interpret this passage, Jesus did not condemn her with the rigors of the law. Rather, Jesus offered her hope. Jesus knew she was longing for something more than what she could find in her many failed relationships and so he offered to her the water of life; he offered her himself. And, when she finally became convinced that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, she returned to her town to tell others.
While she was gone, the disciples who had been watching a portion of this conversation approached Jesus. They didn’t bring up the woman, they just told him that he needed to eat something. But Jesus didn’t let the conversation with the woman get so quickly brushed away. He told his disciples, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work…lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest” (John 4:34-35). Jesus wanted his disciples to know that some things are much more important than daily food. John then writes that the woman brought the whole town to hear Jesus’s words and, “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:39).
The wisdom of God tames the tongue and produces a harvest of righteousness; it brings peace where there is disorder, it gives evidence that we are sons and daughters of God, and it proclaims God’s love to unbelievers. But if we have tongues that are harsh, demeaning, and critical we are unable to share God’s love, unable to sow a harvest of righteousness, and our works are invalidated. It is only when we accept the word of truth from the Father that the disorder Adam and Eve brought into this world is subdued. Instead of being filled with jealousy and selfish ambition, God’s wisdom fills us with purity, peaceableness, gentleness, reasonableness, mercy and good fruits, impartiality, and sincerity. Our tongues — the outlet for our hearts — no longer light a life-consuming fire, but they produce that which is consistent with the overflow of our hearts; peace and a harvest of righteousness.
