Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: 1 Chronicles 9-11
     New Testament Reading: James 3

Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace (James 3: 13-18).

If a man is wise and understanding, he will demonstrate it by his good conduct coupled with a gentleness that comes from wisdom. The Lord Jesus, the embodiment of true wisdom, was not proud and arrogant; He was lowly and humble in heart (Matt. 11:29). Therefore, all who are truly wise will have the hallmark of genuine humility.

James paints the portraits of two men—the truly wise man and the man with false wisdom.

The man who is truly wise is genuinely humble. He estimates others to be better than himself. He does not put on airs, but does put others at ease right away. His behavior is not like that of the world around him; it is otherworldly. He does not live for the body, but for the spirit. In words and deeds, he makes you think of the Lord Jesus.

His life is pure. Morally and spiritually, he is clean. He is peaceable. He will endure insult and false accusation, but will not fight back or even seek to justify himself. He is gentle, mild-mannered, and tenderhearted. And he is easy to reason with, willing to see the other person’s viewpoint. He is not vindictive but always ready to forgive those who have wronged him.

He habitually shows kindness to others, especially to those who don’t deserve it. And he is the same to all; he doesn’t play favorites. The rich receive the same treatment as the poor; the great are not preferred above the common people. Finally, he is not a hypocrite. He doesn’t say one thing and mean another. You will never hear him flatter. He speaks the truth and never wears a mask.

The worldly wise man is not so. His heart is filled with envy and strife. In his determination to enrich himself, he becomes intolerant of every rival or competitor. There is nothing noble about his behavior; it rises no higher than this earth. He lives to gratify his natural appetites—just as the animals do. And his methods are cruel, treacherous, and devilish.

Beneath his well-pressed suit is a life of impurity. His thought life is polluted, his morals debased, his speech unclean. He is quarrelsome with all who disagree with him or who cross him. At home, at work, in social life, he is constantly contentious. And he is harsh and overbearing, rude and crude.

People cannot approach him easily; he keeps them at arm’s length. To reason with him quietly is all but impossible. His mind is already made up, and his opinions are not subject to change. He is unforgiving and vindictive. When he catches someone in a fault or error, he shows no mercy. Rather, he unleashes a torrent of abuse, discourtesy, and meanness. He values people according to the benefit they might be to him. When he can no longer “use” them, when there is no further hope of profit from knowing them, he loses interest in them. Finally, he is two-faced and insincere. You can never be sure of him—either of his words or actions.

James closes the chapter with the words, the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace (v18). Here we are reminded that life is like the farming process. We have the farmer (the wise man who is a peacemaker); the climate (peace); and the harvest (righteousness). The farmer wants to raise a harvest of righteousness. Can this be done in an atmosphere of quarrels and bickering? No, the sowing must take place under peaceful conditions. It must be done by those who are of a peaceful disposition. A harvest of uprightness will be produced in their own lives and in the lives of those to whom they minister.

This is illustrated by Martin Luther’s story of the two goats that met on a narrow bridge over deep water. They could not go back, and they did not dare to fight. “After a short parley, one of them lay down and let the other go over him, and thus no harm was done. The moral,” Luther would say, “is easy: be content if your person is walked upon for peace’s sake; your person, I say, not your conscience.”