Wisdom and the devil

So it’s not head knowledge - reading, studying, upskilling are all great things - but that’s not what we’re talking about. It’s also not ‘street smarts’ - doing whatever you need to get ahead.

Wisdom isn’t really about what you know - it’s seen in how you live.

So let’s have another look at the opening of the passage from James - how is wisdom from above described?

Pure

Peaceable

Gentle

Accommodating

Full of mercy and good fruit

Impartial

Not hypocritical

Righteous

Peaceful

Does that list remind you of anything else in scripture? Sounds an awful lot like the description of love in 1 Corinthians doesn’t it? Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious etc….

So how do you go about becoming wise in this way? It’s not through intellectual effort or study - it is a gift of God. In fact, James even says at the start of his letter:

James 1:5 NLT

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

This kind of wisdom should be so highly prized - as we read in proverbs

Proverbs 16:16 (NET 2nd ed.)

How much better it is to acquire wisdom than gold;

to acquire understanding is more desirable than silver.

Because when you compare heavenly wisdom with earthly wisdom, you’re left with a bitter taste in your mouth. This is how James talks about earthly wisdom:

jealousy

selfishness

boast

lies

earthly

unspiritual

demonic

disorder

evil

That’s not a very happy list.

What we’re talking about is how we approach life - are we using all the tricks in the book to get ahead - using our street smarts - or being reliant on what God gifts us?

Because this is actually what we see the disciples doing in our gospel reading today - arguing about who the greatest is. But in many ways you see it more clearly in the version in Matthew’s gospel - where the mother of the sons of Zebedee ask Jesus to place her precious boys on either side of Jesus in the kingdom. Trying so hard to give her lads a leg up. Do you remember how the other disciples felt about this? They were angry! Definitely one that should be on the list of ‘earthly’ wisdom eh?

As Jesus says - “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

This is all about alignment - much like we talked about in our sermon series on spiritual practices - our goal is to align ourself with God’s heart, not the ways of the world.

Let’s jump back to that first list - the signs of wisdom from God. Take a moment in silence - how many people do you know that could be described by every single word in that list?

A harder question - and again we’ll do this in silence - how much of this list describes you? What is the thing that you struggle most with? Offer it to God in silence now - and ask God for wisdom.

Bluey break

Soul searching is hard work! So let’s take a quick break.

Some of my colleagues at the Anglican Centre have been raving about a kids show called Bluey. Anyone know it? It’s one of those rare kids programmes that parents seem to love as well. So I’m going to show you a clip really quick - this is from an episode called ‘The Pool’, and it shows quite well the difference between worldly wisdom - turning on each other to get ahead- and the peace and love that is heavenly wisdom as they realise what’s really important. You’ll pick the story up - but the family are trying to pass a grade called ‘big fish’ in their swim school, and they don’t like their swim teacher much.

Roll clip….

Cute eh?

OK, let’s get serious again, and finish up our reading.

James 4:7–8 NRSV

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

While Jesus has conquered the devil, defeated death, and is the supreme ruler - the devil still makes desperate attempts to stake a claim on our lives.

There’s a quote that’s often attributed to CS Lewis in his Screwtape letters - but actually comes from a film called the Usual Suspects - the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.

This is not something to be afraid of - but it is something to be aware of and to guard yourself against. But also take heart, because we know the end of the story. In the book of Revelation we read:

Revelation 12:9 (NRSV)

The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

We’re living in the now, but not yet. Much like the enemy tempted Eve to take a bite from that forbidden apple tree, the enemy continues to use the old tricks to make us doubt the promises and nature of God. It can be as sneaky and seemingly insignificant as the voice inside our heads saying that it doesn’t matter if we buy a coffee on the work credit card, or it’s ok to tell a lie to get what we want, or like the dad in Bluey - it’s ok to pee in the pool - it’s a victimless crime.

Note how bold and straightforward James is about it all:

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Align yourself to God - live into God’s wisdom - and the enemy will have no stake on your lives.

I love how The Message translation puts it:

James 4:7–8 MSG

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field.

Yell a loud no to the Devil - and watch him scamper.

Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time.

I love the reminder here that God is so close - so present - that we don’t need to do more than whisper a feeble yes to God, and he will be there.

Now, I alluded to the Screwtape Letters before, which is a CS Lewis book about an experienced devil training a younger one. Here’s an actual quote:

Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts…

I’ll be the first to admit that saying no to the temptations of the enemy is not always that easy - and that often it’s so subtle that we don’t even notice what is happening until much later down the track. But we have a God who is quick to forgive, loving and faithful - and we have enormous authority in the name of Jesus. Our King Jesus who will leave the 99 for the sake of the one - Jesus, the good shepherd.

There’s a great little clip in the original jungle book movie that demonstrates the attitude we should strive to have - it’s that little moment when the snake Kaa is trying to hypnotise Shere Khan.

Roll clip.

Let’s keep working until we have that same confidence in our authority and identity in Christ.

I’m going to do something a bit different to end the sermon today - but it’ll be familiar to those of you in small groups. It’s the quick version of what we call the Kairos circle - where we listen to what God is saying to us, and then work out with the help of the Spirit what we’re going to do about it.

In front of you is a bit of paper - we’re going to take a time of silence now, and I encourage you to reflect on what we’ve been talking about today and see what God is highlighting for you. Write it down. Then pray and work out what you are going to do in response - and write that down. If you’re anything like me, then chances are you’ll just forget about it in a day or two and move on with your life - so why not send someone you trust a text with your plan - or take the paper home and put it somewhere you’ll see regularly - maybe on your bathroom mirror - to keep reminding yourself and on track.