May 16, 2023

Scripture: James 3:14 – “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.”

What it means

This scripture verse was written by the apostle James, and is smack in the middle of the section entitled “Two Kinds of Wisdom”…namely, wisdom that originates from heaven, and wisdom that does not. Wisdom that doesn’t come from heaven, according to James, is “earthly, unspiritual and demonic.” Verse 16 goes on to share “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice”…so…not what we should be aiming for, or settling for. We are given the alternative in verses 17 & 18: “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 reap a harvest of righteousness.”

What it means to me

This can be one of those painful, introspective scripture passages like we might read in Psalm 139 (Search me God, and know my heart, etc.)…but instead of God doing the inspecting in this case, we are encouraged to take a kind of self-inventory of the type of wisdom that we are ultimately striving for, and what kind of effect that it has on those around us. If we are settling for the wisdom of the world, then the effects won’t be what we need them to be – again, “earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” If we put more emphasis on trying to obtain spiritual wisdom, directly from the throne of Heaven…a much better result - “pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” In other words, pretty much at the heart of The Father.

Let’s strive to be people who are continuing to grow in wisdom and in our faith, and let’s make sure that wisdom comes from above – directly from God.

Love you guys, talk to you on Thursday!

In Christ,

Brian