Earthly Wisdom vs. Heavenly Wisdom
James 3:13
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom..”What do you think of when you hear the word “wisdom” or the idea of a “wise man”? If you are like me the first thought that comes to mind is what I see in the movies. The wise man is on some far off mountain top and the guy needing wisdom must battle all sorts of creatures and circumstances to get wisdom. Our society wants us to believe only an elite few have wisdom and we must seek out these wise individuals to get it but the truth is everyone has some level of wisdom.
So what exactly is wisdom? Wisdom is simply taking knowledge and understanding, and then putting it into practice. You use wisdom all the time in everyday life. James describes two kinds of wisdom in this portion of the text: heavenly wisdom and earthly wisdom. What James wants to know is which of the two wisdoms are you putting into practice? In your maturing process God will send trials to test which wisdom you will use. Will you lean on your own limited wisdom and understanding which comes from the flesh and is influenced by the world? Or will you lean on the wisdom that comes from heaven and is influenced by the Holy Spirit?
James begins with a simple question asking, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” Most people do not consider themselves as being wise. If the pastor asked those who thought they were wise to stand up in church most would stay in their seat. The point is everyone has a level of wisdom and it is not measured by deep and poetical answers to life’s questions.
James says there are three ways we can know we have wisdom.
1. Wisdom is demonstrated by your lifestyle...by your actions.2. Godly wisdom will demonstrate a good life and good deeds.
3. Godly wisdom is demonstrated by a life of humility
His first point is wisdom is demonstrated. It is not a wisdom of words and deep thought nor is it some silly statement on a fortune cookie, or the reading of your horoscope...instead it is putting knowledge into daily practice. Wisdom is how your mind processes a situation or problem and decides how to (action) handle it. Earthly wisdom only uses the limited understanding of the human mind but heavenly wisdom uses the unlimited resources of God to solve issues. Which type of wisdom do you find yourself leaning on in most situations?
The second point is godly wisdom will be demonstrated first by a a good life and then good deeds. Good deeds flow from our faith, our relationship, with the Lord. Jesus said in John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches (this describes the relationship). If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit (good deeds done in faith) apart from me you can do nothing (good).” In Matthew 12:35 he said, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” Remember the foundation of what is good is based on God’s definitions...not ours and not the society we live in. In Mark 10:17-18 a man came up to Jesus and called him a good teacher. Jesus’ answer reminds us there is only one source of goodness. He told the man, “Why do you call me good?...No one is good, except God alone.”
Ask yourself the hard question: “What have I done with my life in the past week that God would call good?” There are a lot of people calling themselves believers who spend their whole life in neutral. They call themselves good Christians because they haven’t done anything wrong. I am good because I haven’t stolen, lied, or committed some other type of sin. James calls this type of thinking dead faith (James 2:17). Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because they created their own idea of goodness instead of following God’s laws. In Matthew 23:23 he says, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices… mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law...justice, mercy and faithfulness…”
God determines what is good and how godly wisdom should be active in everyday living. We demonstrate godly wisdom first with a good life meaning we have a godly reputation with others. People see a lifestyle of following God’s Word in the way we talk and live. We also demonstrate wisdom in how we respond to the needs of others. When you notice someone needing help do you thank God for the opportunity? When someone asks you to meet a need do you recognize the situation as a test from God to build up your maturity in Wisdom?
The third point is heavenly wisdom will demonstrate itself in humility meaning a humble lifestyle. The King James Version of the Bible (KJV) calls this meekness and the words are actually interchangeable. The key to understanding humility and meekness is found in the attitude it portrays to other people. A humble or meek person is seen by others as gentle, mild mannered, a person who lives a quiet life as opposed to a person filled with pride and selfishness. The humble man doesn’t need attention because his pleasure is found in serving God while the selfish person tries to puff his own image in everyone’s eyes.
How is your wisdom? Can you recognize the difference between earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom in your life? Looking back do you see times when you chose earthly wisdom over heavenly wisdom to solve a problem?
