Doers of the Word: Wisdom Seekers

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. 16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. 17 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. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

4 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? 2 You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, “God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,“God opposes the proud,but gives grace to the humble.”7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Many in the world are on a constant quest for information, achievement, acquisitions, and accolades and other things that fill an unarticulated hunger within.

Our external consumptions are often driven by an inner need that we haven’t quite identified or been able to articulate. It may even be difficult for many to understand that our outward actions reveal an inner conviction. Our outward manifestations reveal our inner conflict.

Some of us are beside ourselves more than we know.

James continues to offer wisdom to a geographically and spiritually scattered people. James speaks in contrasts that highlight the conflicts facing his audience. While there are conflicts among the people, there are also conflicts within the people.

If we will acknowledge and deal with the root of conflicts within us, many of our external conflicts may be relieved.

James asks a challenging question: Who is wise and understanding among you?

wise - having moral insight and practical life skills

understanding- knowledgeable and having intellectual aptitude

Well, show it by your good works!

How I wish we could stop there!

“Here, James calls in his community to take a reflective look. He warns the people about two character flaws that undermine living their faith - being doers of the Word.

Not mincing words, James contends, “But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth” (v. 14).

Whenever we envy others and hold self-serving attitudes, we must first recognize the origin of such attitudes. To be “wise and understanding,” it is critical to acknowledge that envy and selfish ambition “does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish” (v. 15).

Not to recognize this indicates that we are prideful and pretentious, not only with others but with ourselves.

James contrasts heavenly and earthly ways depicting the separation of human ways from God’s ways.

This behavior produces confusion and contention; corruptible competition.

We see this in athletic rivalries in the lapse or absence of sportsmanlike conduct.

Professional football players get penalties for conduct unbecoming when hubris/pridefulness gets unbridled by adrenaline and egos collide.

That kind of self-serving/ego-centric ‘wisdom’ comes from leaning to one’s own limited understanding …seeking to stand out rather than seeking what makes one truly outstanding.

James warns:

16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.

Look at the envy and selfish ambition in the world and the resulting conflict and confusion.

Look at the quest for ratings and approval that overshadows the impact of decisions on ordinary lives.

Consider the tangled web of problems facing the world. How often do we hear claims of complexity that kill even trying simple solutions? Who does the complexity serve?

Envy and selfish ambition drive disorder and wickedness of every kind.

DISORDER is not only human messiness or manipulated complexity.

DISORDER refers to any order that is not aligned with God, that does not bring God’s peace.

Envy and selfish ambition are contrary to God’s nature. In 1 Cor 14:33, the Apostle Paul teaches

1 Corinthians 14:33 (NRSV) ~ for God is a God not of disorder but of peace.

17 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.

James uses seven adjectives to describe wisdom from above. Seven indicates completion; wholeness. The wisdom from above is comprehensive.

When we embrace and embody wisdom from above, when we align with wisdom from above, then we will be truly outstanding.

So What?

This text is an opportunity for self-examination.

Question: What resides in our hearts? The heart was the center of the being, the center of thought in the ancient world. Proverbs 3: As a person thinks in their heart so are they.

Inner Change

Perhaps the most important tenet of our faith is that ours is a faith seeking wisdom and understanding.

The followers of Christ were intrigued by Jesus’ countercultural way of being. He spoke of a different kind of kingdom, a different type of relational order.

People wanted a change in external conditions, Jesus wanted to change their inner disposition.

The people wanted the world around them to change; Jesus wanted them to be the change in the world around them.

Inner work produces the outward change.

Again, this text is an opportunity for self-examination.

James inquires,

4 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?

Not only do “envy and selfish ambition” come from below, but they also originate within us.

There are desires that battle within us.

Jesus says love your neighbor as you love yourself. Seems simple enough.

But if we have not done the inner work of loving ourselves, if we have not confirmed that we are a personal work in progress with wants, warts, and willfulness, we cannot rightly or fully love our neighbor who is also a work in progress. We cannot wholly or truly love another unless and until we face our truth in the practice of loving ourselves.

If we deceive ourselves rather than facing our difficult truth, we will only be the shadow of our potential at best, or a false facade to the truth at worst.

And look at the behavior that results:

2 You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder.

We continue to hear of mass shootings. Someone wanting something and did not have it, so they committed murder; physical murder. Taking life is the polar opposite of God, who gives life.

There are other life taking practices among us. Emotional, psychological, and economic murder continue as resources and energies are lavished on some and languish for others, as access or opportunities are withheld due to partialities among people.

Missing persons - Gabby Petito case has stirred up the disparities in missing persons searches. While great energy went into finding Gabby Petito, there are hundreds of missing Native American Women that never make the news; the lighter and fairer the body the greater the concern for closure.

Partiality only intensifies pain and suffering.

And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts.

Saber rattling and temper tantrums of power among people and nations lead to wars where innocents are harmed and killed. The erroneous drone strike in Afghanistan killed 10 innocent people, including 7 children. Oh, the ‘usual’ compensation for the loss of a family member is $2,500. Is that all a life is worth?

War is profitable for many brandishing selfish ambitions. We must seek to understand what is in the hearts of those driving disputes and conflicts. What’s at stake and for whom?

James gets to the heart of conflict:

2 You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.

This is not just about people asking God for stuff. People certainly ask as if God is some kind of vending machine. There is more to this.

You do not have, because you do not ask with the right motives. You do not have because you ask selfishly.

Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given to you.” (Matt 7:7)

But Jesus was speaking of asking which is focused on God’s kingdom and motivated by God’s will - ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done (Matt. 6:9–10)—not an asking to indulge those ‘pleasures’ (hēdonai) that are at war with our souls (cf. v. 1).

Asking for items or conditions that feed your hedonistic pleasures or ego is feeding your selfish ambition; perpetuating the frailty of a self-centered soul.

God does not provide for self-centered squandering.

Instead of fueling the war within, James advises the people to

1. Submit yourselves before to God.

2. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

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

You have not wisdom and understanding, because you ask not with the right motives.

Submit. Resist Evil. Draw near.

Recognize the truth(that’s true wisdom). Resist evil (push away envy and selfish ambition). This makes space to draw close to God and God will draw near to you to finally satisfy your craving.

Recognize truth. Resist evil. Receive God.

Believe God. Belong to God. Become who God intends you to be.

Seek God’s wisdom and become wise and understanding to share with the world. May God’s will be done and God’s kin’dom come. Amen