Today launches a new chapter in this blog. I hope you used this blog in the past to get into a pattern of daily Bible study. If you are in need of a daily devotional, send me a message and I will help you find one. This blog will now be used for a different purpose. Every Thursday a post will go up with a recap of the lesson from Wednesday night. That way you do not forget it. It is also something that you can read to keep up with us if you miss a week because you were sick or for other reasons.
Wisdom & Humility
Do you think you have life all figured out?
Do you think you are wise?
If you said yes to those two questions, I have news for you: You are not wise. I am not wise. I may display wisdom from time to time, and you may too, but neither of us are really wise. Those of you that said no to those questions are on the right track but then we must ask ourselves if we still act like we know it all by refusing help from others.
James 3:13-18 is a hard-hitting passage on this topic of wisdom-- what it is, what it isn’t, and what it brings to our lives.
Vs 13
James asks a similar question to the one I asked at the beginning of this post. Then he adds that if you are wise then you will show your works in humility. Being humble means recognizing when you need help, and making sure that you will not live your life for yourself but for others. It is the opposite of pride. You cannot be both wise and proud.
Vs 14
The point of this verse is that if you claim you are wise but have “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition,” you are not wise and are in fact lying if you say you are. These two things that James mentions are really big deals, but we are all guilty of them from time to time. Bitter jealousy is when you really want something that someone else has and you cease to be content with God and instead think that you would be happy if you only had that one thing more. Selfish ambition also stems from dissatisfaction, but it is when you selfishly pursue your own goals instead of the goals of God. You show this characteristic when you hurt others to get what you want.
Vs 15
These two things are not from God. This type of ambition is wrong, and jealousy is also wrong. James says that they are “earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” This list goes from bad to worst. It starts with "earthly," which has the idea that it is temporary and pertaining to the earth instead of heaven. The second one is “unspiritual” which has the idea that it hinders spiritual growth and in fact has the opposite effect of spiritual growth. The third part is that it is demonic. Satan and his demons were guilty of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition when Satan said that he could be like the God Most High and tried to overthrow Him. We essentially do the same thing when we exhibit this behavior because we are saying God and what He has given us is not enough.
Vs 16
Where these two things exist there will be “disorder and every vile practice.” You can probably think of situations in your life where problems were caused due to jealousy and this ambition. You can probably think of times you were jealous or ambitious in this way and you lost friends and caused all sort of pain in people's lives. In truth, these two things can cause a world of hurt in other peoples lives and can cause you to do all sorts of things that are wrong.
Vs 17
The wisdom that comes from God is wisdom that brings peace and is pure. This list of things is filled with good things that we want, but it takes humility and a focus on doing things for God’s glory rather than our own.
Vs 18
We will get what we sow. If we plant grass seed we can’t expect to get pumpkins. If we sow jealousy and such things then we will reap those same things. If we sow wisdom we will reap peace.
It is important that we find our satisfaction in God. Every time we go against God we are saying that He is not enough. In my best moments I find my complete satisfaction in God and in so doing I find joy. If we look for contentment in anything else we will just continue to look. We will always be one thing away from contentment and we will become bitterly jealous of others and our ambition will hurt so many people. We need to realize that God is all we ever need, and in him we can find satisfaction.
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