Who is wise and
understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the
humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish
ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such
"wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual,
of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find
disorder and every evil practice. 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. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a
harvest of righteousness. James 3:13-18
When I say wisdom, what do you think of? Smart? I have met
some really smart people, and they have a wealth of knowledge that they are
willing to share. I have met some people that are book smart, but they have no
common sense. I have met people that are smart, know what they need to do and
never bring themselves to do it.
“Who is wise and
understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the
humility that comes from wisdom.” Just like faith without works
is dead and meaningless. Wisdom without being active in your life is worthless.
The wisdom here is not only spiritual wisdom. It is practical. It is to be
applied. It has feet. It is going to show itself in your life.
Knowledge is the
accumulation of facts. Wisdom is taking knowledge and applying to our lives. Wisdom’s
goal, it seems, is to help us to avoid bad company. It is also wisdom’s goal is
to help us live a godly life.
Wisdom seems to be speaking primarily to the youth of
every generation. At the same time, it seems that the voice of wisdom is
reminding those who are more mature in her audience to remember her instruction
because we are still on the journey of life. As someone put it, “The past remain with us. For good or ill
what we are is a result of what we have done.”
Marks of Manmade Wisdom
As we look at 4 basic things here, notice that each one ties into our
relationships. These might be considered the default settings of our sinful,
fallen nature. They tend to come naturally for all human beings.
·
Bitter
envy - pointed, sharp, zealous, jealousy possessing no concern for the
feelings or welfare of others. It is purely self-centric, the philosophy of
self-indulgence.
·
Selfish
ambition - a contentious selfish motivation. Doing something for
personal gain w/o concern for others.
·
Pride
- a self-centered, self-indulging, arrogant demeanor. Redefining bitter envy and selfish ambition
as positive traits puts us in a place of actually boasting about these
qualities.
· Disorder and every evil practice
- Chaos and sin. A life out of control
because there are no controls on the life.
Sources of Manmade Wisdom
1. Earthly - humanistic (man’s way
vs. God’s way)
2. Unspiritual - Natural- stemming
from the sinful nature of man.
3.
Of the
Devil - Demonic- finds its source in opposition to God. When man
rejects the counsel of God, he opens himself up to the advice of devils and
demons. There really is no neutral ground.
Refusing the wisdom of God opens a person up to the false
wisdom that may sound good, but ultimately aligns us with the enemies of God! Don’t refuse the wisdom of the Holy
Spirit. Listen to what He is telling you
and safeguard yourself against false wisdom.
Scripture to Claim:
Therefore
I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have
received them, and they will be granted you.
Mark 11:24
