Chronos: James #7 Series

A few weeks ago, we started a year-long journey chronological study of the New Testament today. Hence the reason we are calling this message series Chronos. It's a word that means “time.” We will be journeying through time back to the start of the early church. We will be doing this by walking through the books of James, Thessalonians, Galatians and Corinthians. We will take a few detours along the way for the major Christian holidays. However, we will be opening up our bibles each week to unpack the scriptures as they were present in the early church.

We start with the book of James because it is the earliest writing determined by present day scholarly dating.

It is the first book or letter written to this new ‘church’ or gathering.

It was written by Jesus to his first half brother, James.

It was written to the messianic Jews who had come to believe Jesus was the Messiah and those first followers who weren't Jewish called Gentiles who had become aware of and believed in Jesus.

It was written to the first bad actors and their practices that were stunting the movement’s growth.

Last week we took a punch in the mouth, when we spoke about the words we use and how we use them. We learned what we say comes from our heart. When our heart is not right, we will fall short of the person God has created us to be. The person Jesus died to redeem. The person the Holy Spirit is encouraging to stand and represent Jesus to the world.

This week we dive into the last part of James chapter 3. We will unpack verses 13-18. It’s a chapter entitled Wisdom in some translations. It's perfect for us today in 2022 because we are in the midst of an explosion of knowledge but wisdom is practically non-existent. The primary difference between the two is that wisdom involves a healthy dose of perspective. Anyone can become knowledgeable about a subject by reading, researching, memorizing facts or watching a YouTube video. It’s wisdom, however, that requires more understanding and the ability to determine which facts are relevant in certain situations.

As I watched the super bowl, I saw a commercial for crypto with Larry David that was a perfect example about the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

https://youtu.be/sUyEkW0zOh0

SLIDE

A quote by an unknown author sums up the differences well: “Knowledge is knowing what to say. Wisdom is knowing when to say it.”

However, there are different types of wisdom depending on one's core belief systems. If a person’s core belief is to acquire wealth and power, their perspective on a situation will be different than the person looking to achieve a different aim. Many people’s lives are in shambles. They went after position, power, and prosperity but found they were really in search of something more important: peace and purpose.

SLIDE

Warren Wiersbe, author, pastor theologian, once said, “Knowledge enables us to take things apart, but wisdom enables us to put things together and relate God’s truth to life.”

Let’s dive into the beginning at verse 13.

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil.

James begins with describing the results of worldly wisdom. The wisdom of the world results in “envy,” strife, self ambition/boasting and deceit.

Simply defined, envy is the displeasure we take in another’s good fortune. We live in a society that loves to create drama and strife. We build bigger and acquire more because that’s the American dream. Merriam Webster describes the American Dream as: a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful.

But is the American dream, God’s dream for all of us?

“In her latest book, The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power, D.L. Mayfield calls upon Christians to reject the “work hard and achieve your dreams” formula as both false and dangerous.” She argues, trusting in the American Dream is a recipe for disappointment for some. For others, it’s a catalyst to a self satisfied complacency and judgmental existence. She calls everyone back to the scripture of Isaiah 61 and quoted by Jesus as the announcement of His arrival and the future direction and perspective on all our lives.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord ’s favor. (Luke 4:18–19)