Monday, July 27, 2020
Scripture for the Day
James 3:13-18
Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.
While James is not a book that would have appeared in the Wisdom Collaborative series during our Mid-week Recharge, it is a book in the New Testament that shows a lot of concern for wisdom. In the NRSV, the title of this pericope is “Two Kinds of Wisdom,” and in it James details the difference between earthly wisdom and wisdom that comes from above. They are not the same, and in fact, are inherently opposed to one another.
In verse 14, earthly wisdom is described as being marked by “bitter envy and selfish ambition.” James considers envy to be the primary perpetrator for disputes in relationships. It boils down to coveting – a longing for what someone else has, or a desire for more than you actually need. This selfish ambition leads us to live in a very self-absorbed way. We are constantly after what we want or what we perceive will bring us pleasure. This often comes at the expense of our relationship with others as well as at the expense of our very own humanity. Furthermore, we live in a culture that has lost touch with the concept of “enough.” We are perpetually dissatisfied with what we have (or don’t have), and this condition causes conflict, both internally in ourselves and externally in our relationships with others. James says where envy, or selfish ambition, is present, there will also be “disorder and wickedness of every kind.” This earthly wisdom is divisive and stifling and lethal.
However, there is another type of wisdom that James presents to us – wisdom from above. This second type of wisdom is the complete opposite of earthly wisdom. It is generative and peaceful. It is marked by humility, purity, wholeness, and mercy. It is a wisdom that is willing to yield and to show no partiality. This wisdom brings life. This wisdom makes it possible for us to be peacemakers in our relationships and in our communities. This wisdom leads us into right relationship with God.
James opens this pericope by asking the question, “who among you is wise and understanding,” and I would like to end this devotion by asking that same question. May it be an invitation to examine our own lives for traces of wisdom from above and to look around us for examples of wisdom in the lives of others. These verses are a call to honor the evidence of wisdom in others. They are a call to self-reflection and examination. May we hear that call and respond, growing more in wisdom from above, wisdom that brings life and wholeness, each and every day.
