Wisdom from Above

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. James 3:17

Wisdom from Above

13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:13-18

James 3:13-18 presents what it means to be wise and understanding. James clarifies here that a truly wise and understanding person is one who does good for the good of others. A truly wise and understanding person embodies the humility of wisdom, through faith in Jesus, which lead him to putting others before himself. This is in high contrast with the wisdom from the world, which encourages and applauds self-serving behavior and attitudes. The promotion of self-love, self-care, and self-belief is nearly everywhere we look.

James goes on to say that the wisdom from the world is fueled by wanting what others have and having the ambition to go after it. Scripture states that this kind of "dog eat dog" mentality leads only to "disorder and evil of every kind." Whereas the wisdom that comes from Above leads to peace, gentleness, and mercy.

Humility of Wisdom

As people, we often equate wisdom with being older and having had many life experiences. And we often equate understanding with having all the right answers to life’s many questions. Instead, Scripture says that wisdom is demonstrated through our actions and how we live, (regardless of our age, life experiences, or head knowledge). James reflects what he wrote about faith and good works in chapter 2: "I will show you my faith by my works." James 2:18

A truly wise person will display the humility of wisdom through what he does, not in just what he says he knows. The true measure of the wisdom that comes from Above is a life well lived, fully dedicated to Jesus, where good works naturally result through genuine repentance and faith in Him. As the book of Proverbs frequently says, humility is a crucial part of living wisely. (Proverbs 1:5-8). Without putting ourselves aside, we could never become the wise servants Jesus is calling us to be. Possessing true wisdom means being good stewards of our time, talents, and money, and putting others before ourselves, all because we trust in Jesus for salvation. Along with the gift of salvation, Jesus gives us the gift of His heavenly wisdom, and all the grace we need to follow it.

"Look at Me"

Let's consider the common career and motivational advice we come across on our tv and social media every day. Nearly everywhere we look is "Look at me....'Look at you.'" The average "life coach" or psychologist tells us to believe in yourself, determine what you want out of life, and go after it. This idea suggests that a successful person is someone who knows what they want and is able to obtain it for themselves. This worldly approach to life is so prevalent that it feels so natural to us. It's been pounded into our heads from an early age to "follow your heart" and work hard so you can "become rich and retire early" (Much of learning to follow Jesus is unlearning to follow ourselves, our misguided hearts, and the pattern of this world).

Worldly Wisdom

The world's definition of success is achieving whatever you want to get out of life. To accomplish this, you have to compare yourself to others and then determine what you want. This results in envying and coveting what other people have. Consequently, worldly wisdom says that you need to strategize to get those same things for yourself, which involves a level of self focus and selfish ambition. Worldly wisdom wants us to admire, praise, and make idols out of those who have worked hard and pursued a selfish and ambitious route to achieve wealth, status, and "the good life." This approach suggests that having selfish ambition is both admirable and valuable. The mentality becomes, "I'll do whatever it takes to get what I want." And the world applauds that.

James says this is not the wisdom that comes from Above. In reality, why worldly wisdom is so normal to us is only because it is "earthly, unspiritual, and demonic." Let's remember, the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one (1 John 5:9), and before we followed Jesus, we naturally followed the system of this world because it was the only path we knew. Now we know a far superior one: Jesus: the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:16). As Christians, we are called to be in this world for a time, but we're not called to be of the world. (John 17:14-16), since our real citizenship is in Heaven (Eph 3:20). Essentially, earthly wisdom will not and cannot benefit us beyond the confines of our very brief, physical existence. Not only that, its source is the devil. Like everything that is good, Satan likes to create a cheap imitation of it. The world's wisdom is counterfeit wisdom that promises to give us all the desires of our hearts, but never ever delivers.

The Bible warns us against this kind of wisdom. Scripture says that such earthly and short-sighted thinking is in high contrast with the life Jesus calls His followers to live. The apostle John described this worldly wisdom as "the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life  (1 John 2:16) And he goes on to say, "And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:17)

Satan's Cheap Imitation

Satan's cheap imitation of wisdom only brings more and more thirst without the quench. It always keeps us striving and laboring with an empty hole in our hearts that never fills up. We remain thirsty and unsatisfied in Satan's kind of wisdom.

James highlights that when everyone focuses solely on themselves and only works for their own interests, the outcome is disorder and confusion. In this world, an astonomical number of personal agendas clash and compete with one another, creating a chaotic environment that feels both normal yet super exhausting for us all.

The other outcome of worldly wisdom is "every evil or vile practice." When we're only focused on our own self-serving goals and agendas, it'll eventually require us to step on and push away others to get what we want. Worldly wisdom encourages us to justify our selfishness, and makes us blind to our sin and deaf to any correction. In order to continue competing and advancing in the world, we will ultimately need to compromise on what is right.

In our school systems, they teach our kids the mass lie of evolution by natural selection: "survival of the fittest" That's drilled into us from a young age. This theory suggests we have to beat and step on others in order to succeed in life. If personal success is the ultimate objective in life, many different forms of immorality become acceptable and normal to us. When people follow the wisdom of the world, pain, sorrow, and disappointment become commonplace, while acts of self-sacrifice become rare, (although we do see a lot of people announcing and parading their good works of helping others on social media, which is not truly selfless). Jesus tells His followers to perform charitable deeds and acts of kindness without seeking public’s recognition or praise. (Matthew 6:3) True biblical love is rare.

Heavenly Wisdom

Those who follow the wisdom from Above experience a very different life.

In verse 17, James outlines the traits of wisdom that comes from Above, from Heaven, which is God's wisdom. His wisdom is granted to those who have placed their faith in Jesus for salvation. Believers trust that Jesus will provide everything we need in His perfect timing, to continually bestow every good gift (James 1:17), and to satisfy every longing of our hearts, as we head for eternal life with Him in heaven. Consequently, as believers, we are willing to forgo opportunities of more wealth, status, or pleasure. Instead, we choose to serve the Lord, as He gives us exactly what we need, when we need it. And He is so, so gracious with His gifts and perfect with His timing.

Submitting to God leads to outcomes that greatly differ from those driven by selfish, worldly ambitions. James characterizes godly wisdom as "pure," derived from the Greek term hagnē. This signifies "undivided, chaste, or pure." Such wisdom is refined, simplified, and concentrated on a single purpose: fulfilling whatever our Lord Jesus is calling us to do.

The wisdom from Above is peace-loving, prioritizing the resolution of conflicts as opposed to creating them. This wisdom is gentle, considerate to others, inclined to serve rather than argue or engage in disputes. It is reasonable and submissive, open to understanding different perspectives and accommodating someone else's ways over its own. The wisdom from Above is rich in mercy and the positive fruits that flow from being gentle, considerate, reasonable, submissive, and merciful. Heavenly wisdom is impartial, avoiding favoritism. This wisdom is sincere, in that there is no pretense or manipulation to get what it wants; There is no need for double-mindedness (saying one thing but meaning another).

Life becomes so much easier, simpler, and much more joyful for the Christian when they let go of the need to get whatever they want at any cost. Without having this agenda in a "dog-eat-dog" world, conflict and strife dramaticallly decrease, while peace and joy increase. However, the only way to truly abandon this agenda altogether and escape worldly wisdom is to have true saving faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live. He willingly went to the cross, suffered and died the death we deserve. He alone did the work for us. He paid in full the debt we owed for our sins. In three days, Jesus rose again from the grave. So whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). It is by grace through faith alone in Jesus that we are saved, not by works.

For the Christian, Jesus provides everything we need at every moment, and He is the Giver of all good things, namely our salvation in Him. Jesus is our Wisdom! What a gift from Above.

Devotion inspired by and reworded from Bibleref commentary. It's one of my favorite sources.

Also, I'm aware it's lengthy. I plan to go back and simplify where need be. Just felt I needed to hit publish.