Sermon Tone Analysis

James 3:13-18

 

! Introduction

            We had an old second car when our kids were teenagers.

The body was rusty and the doors didn’t seal well, but it always started and got us where we wanted to go.

The biggest problem was that it had an oil leak.

Wherever it was parked, there was an oil pattern under it.

When our sons had girl friends, they were asked to be careful where they parked at their place.

We checked the oil regularly and had to add oil quite often, but we never fixed the problem.

In other words, we solved the surface problem of maintaining the oil level in the engine, but we never addressed the cause of the problem, which was the leak itself.

Late last winter, we noticed that there was water under our sink in the kitchen.

We put rags there and at one point even put a bucket there.

It stayed like that for several months until one day I took the time to check what the problem was and finally tightened a few connections and stopped the leak.

In that case also, at least for a while, we dealt with the manifestation of the problem, but didn’t fix the source of the problem.

Last Sunday, in our study of James, we talked about the terrible problem of the tongue.

In the last part of that passage, James raises some hard questions.

He asks, vs. 10-12.

He reveals the terrible incongruity of what comes out of our mouths.

If we try to solve this problem by speaking better or by keeping our mouth shut, we will not really get to the heart of the problem.

It will be like putting a bucket under a leaking faucet or adding oil to a car that has a leak.

Jesus identifies the real problem when he says in Matthew 12:34, “…how can you who are evil say anything good?

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

In other words, the problem is not in our mouth, but in our heart.

In James 3:13, He asks, “Who is wise and understanding among you?”

Why does he ask this question?

I believe he asks this question to show that what comes out of our mouth is a direct result of the choices we make in our heart.

In the verses that follow, he presents two kinds of wisdom that we can follow.

The choice we make about the wisdom we follow will show in the life we live, including in the way we speak.

And so we are encouraged to choose heavenly wisdom.

Which way of wisdom will we follow?

Will we trust God and follow His wisdom or will we trust ourselves and follow earthly wisdom?

Which choice are you making from day to day?

!

I. Earthly “wisdom” 14-16

            In verses 14-16, James describes earthly wisdom.

As Christians, we may think that we don’t need to hear about earthly wisdom because we have been changed by God and we don’t follow earthly wisdom.

Really???

            In James 3:9-12, we have already noted that many who call themselves believers have a problem with their tongue.

They go to church and praise God and then walk out of church and curse their fellow believer.

Somehow they are able to follow a wisdom, in their hearts, that allows them to do this.

Last week, I had a conversation with someone about the conflicts that are happening in the world.

As we thought about the wars that are going on, I suggested that part of the reason for these wars was because people were not following God.

But as I said that, I had to admit that there have been many conflicts among people who identify themselves as followers of Jesus, such as the Catholics and Protestants in Ireland.

Again, however, it seems reasonable to suggest that those who are fighting are really not following Christ, they are following an earthly wisdom.

But then I had to realize that even people who claim to be Christian and even those who claim to be non-resistant, peace-loving Mennonite Christians also fight.

In chapter 4, James asks about “fights and quarrels” among the believers.

Then and now, believers who would claim to follow Christ and who would hate war and conflict, nevertheless fight with each other.

They too follow a wisdom that somehow allows them to do such things that don’t fit together.

So it is clear that we do need to identify and understand the wisdom that permits such incongruity in the body of Christ.

!! A. The Source

            The source of such wisdom is not from God in heaven.

It is described in verse 15 as earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.

There is a wisdom that has its origin in this world and has none of the marks of heaven on it.

If you ask people in this world, they would identify some things as wise, even though God says they are not wise.

Such wisdom is unspiritual or as some translate it, natural.

It arises out of the emotions and desires of the human heart and does those things that are natural to people on earth.

Ultimately such wisdom comes from the devil.

When the Pharisees, who thought they were being true to God spoke with Jesus, they revealed their heart in their hatred of Jesus.

Jesus told them where their thinking came from and what their true allegiance was when he says in John 8:44, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.

He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.

When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

For America to go to Afghanistan and bomb it to pieces in order to force it to hand over terrorists makes a lot of sense to many people, but is the source of this wisdom heavenly or earthly?

I believe the source of such wisdom is earthly, natural and has its source in the devil.

If we understand that there are things that make sense from an earthly point of view but not a heavenly point of view, we can be more aware of the choices we make about which wisdom we will follow.

!! B. The Deeds

James indicates that such wisdom has two primary motivations.

It operates out of bitter envy and selfish ambition.

The word envy is actually a neutral word.

It can be translated zeal or jealousy.

It is positive when it inspires to great effort and work.

It is negative when it is so zealous and so focused that it begrudges what another person possesses.

Perhaps I can describe the difference using an illustration from sports.

The zeal to excel and do well in sports is a good thing.

If we play hard and do as well as we can and strive to excel, that is a good thing.

But when we begrudge the other team a victory, when we use unfair methods to gain an advantage, when we feel hatred towards the other team, we have crossed the line from zeal to jealousy.

When envy is combined with the word “bitter” we know that it is decidedly negative.

The word “bitter” comes from a word that was used to describe stagnant, polluted water and came to describe distasteful, tragic and painful events in life.

Bitter envy then is the heart that looks at others and desires what they have and is angry and upset that they are doing well.

Before we dismiss this motivation as not having a part of our life, we need to think very carefully.

How often, when we see someone succeed, do we wish that they did not succeed as much or wish that we would succeed more?

How often and sometimes blindly are we filled with anger or hatred towards another person or criticize another person?

Our hearts are even blind to the feelings we have towards another person, but if we were honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that we are jealous.

The other motivation behind earthly wisdom is selfish ambition.

The Greek word used here was also originally a neutral word.

It referred to spinning for hire and then came to mean work done for pay.

From there it came to mean work only for what a person can get out of it.

And so it came to mean a focus on ourselves.

It is a negative kind of ambition that is motivated by a selfish spirit bent on immediate personal gain at any cost.

The sin of selfish ambition runs contrary to the very heart of the Christian ethic, an ethic based on sacrificial love and humble service of the brethren, as so vividly portrayed in the life of Our Lord (e.g., Mk. 10:43–45)

            This sin is at the heart of earthly wisdom.

It is not concerned about the things of God, but is focused solely on self and on promoting self.

At its heart is self centeredness.

If we think that we are immune to it, we need not dig very deep because it is everywhere.

When one church is in competition with a another church, when one ministry in the church becomes upset because it can’t get workers away from another ministry, when we are more concerned about making sure we have a pleasurable life than helping others, when we want to become involved in service to show how good a person we are, then we are filled with selfish ambition.

Wherever we have envy or selfish ambition, we must know that we are following earthly wisdom.

!! C. The Results

            Whenever we hear about fights between churches, fights within churches, fights between people who are Christians, fights between Christian spouses, slander and angry words among brothers and sisters, we can be sure that earthly wisdom is at work.

The result of earthly wisdom is chaos and every evil practice.

Chaos is the disorder that comes when people are not working together.

Evil practice is anything that leads to hurt and wrong.

Whenever we use earthly wisdom, it will lead to chaos and evil practice.

!

II.