(This illustration comes from Simon Coupland’s Book Spicing up your speaking):
Robert Greene wrote a self-help manual for people who want to be amongst life’s winners. He called it ‘The 48 laws of Power’. Here are some of his 48 laws:
Never put too much trust in friends; learn how to use enemies. Conceal your intentions. Always say less than necessary. Court attention at all cost. Get others to do the work for you & always take the credit. Avoid the unhappy and the unlucky. Learn to keep people dependant on you. Crush your enemy totally. Do not commit to anyone. Play on people’s need to believe to create a cult-like following. Discover each man’s thumbscrew; everyone has a weakness. Be Royal in your own fashion; act like a King to be treated like one. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter! He adds: “I hate to tell you but the real fools are the ones who take the values of decency and morality too seriously. The need for power and control is the most elementary human need. There is something deep in the core of human beings …insecurity, vanity, the urge to dominate and survive – that will never change. Learn to get power and you will be a better happier human being!
Earthly wisdom!
It has been said that, ‘the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart’. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. In James 3:3-12 James the half-brother of Jesus has been writing to believers to remind them of the problem of the human tongue; ‘with the tongue we praise our Lord and father, and with it we curse men [and women] who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing’ and James simply says to us, ‘my brothers and sisters this should not be’ (3:9-10).In other words for us as believers there is a right way to conduct ourselves and there is also a wrong way to conduct ourselves. It is as if the Bible author – in this instance James – wants to look each of us in the eye, face to face, and challenge our speech, what we say and how we say it, and then to challenge our hearts.
Bible commentator William Macdonald says James puts our faith on trial. In verses 13-18 our faith is put on trial with regard to the type of wisdom we manifest in our daily lives – either heavenly godly wisdom (3:17) or the alternative which is earthly, unspiritual, devilish wisdom (3:14) like that of Robert Greene.
On Thursday evening I gave a short talk at Barking Deanery Synod about the Essex Clergy Charity Corporation for which I am a representative. After my short talk Stephen Cottrell the Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in very moving terms about his disappointment that the legislation to introduce Women Bishops has still not been passed, despite the fact that the vast majority of people in the Church are in favour of it. He then went on to give an inspirational talk about our four strategic priorities as a Church, and our call to be a Transforming Presence as a Church and as individual people. Priority number one is: ‘Inhabiting the world distinctively’.
What is it about Christians that marks us out as different, attractive, as people who follow Jesus? James highlights ‘the wisdom that comes from heaven’ (3:17). It is distinctive. People that are full of heaven’s wisdom are very different to people who are full of ‘earthly, unspiritual’ wisdom (3:15). Distinctive living is high on the agenda of James. It is a strategic priority for us as a Church to inhabit the world distinctively and this letter of James will help us.
I want to start by saying what heavenly wisdom is not! It is not to do with knowledge. It is highly likely that the letter of James was, in part, addressing churches where groups and individuals had fallen out with each other; and with the inability of Synod to approve Women Bishops this week we have a contemporary example. It’s been reported that some of the speeches on both sides at synod – a tiny minority – came across as rigid, unyielding and unloving towards people who disagreed with the speech-giver.
No wonder James writes (3:1), ‘Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.’ It seems that then as now some Bible teachers were being over-presumptuous and were claiming to have special wisdom and knowledge. James confronts this problem – and let’s be clear it was not a challenge it was a problem! He confronts it (verse 13) with a question: “Who is wise and understanding among you?” and ears would have pricked up; but this was not a naming and shaming. He has already said in his letter, ‘my dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry’ (1:19) and later in the letter he will say, ‘Brothers, do not slander one another’ (4:11). This was no time for pointing fingers at one another, but it was a call for each and every believer to consider their own hearts.
And that’s what I would ask you to do. Don’t hear this talk as being about someone else.
Put your own heart in the dock. Consider what God might be saying to you, not what God might be saying about someone else.
So heavenly wisdom is not about knowledge or special understanding; and it’s not about some kind of superior spirituality which can creep into a heart. For example, “I’m Church of England so in some way my brand of faith has got to be better than yours”, or, “I’ve studied and understood Revelation in the Bible and you really do need to listen to me to understand it or else your faith will be lacking”, or, “I was chatting to God this morning and he gave me an amazing understanding of what is wrong with your church”, or other superiorities that can creep in such as, “I’ve been a Christian much longer than you”, or even, “I was a member of this church while you were still in nappies.” None of this is heavenly wisdom. In fact, all of that is a brand of the earthly, unspiritual, devilish wisdom that James refers to.
Heavenly wisdom is shown by leading a good life.
Can you think of someone you know who makes you think of Jesus when you spend time with them? Can you think of a Christian who leads a good life, full of good deeds carried out in humility? I can.
But it’s not about them. This is not about someone else. This is about me and this is about you.
What kind of wisdom do you have? Put yourself in the dock. To what degree does Chapter 3 verse 17 describe you? I ask this because verse 17 describes Jesus. He is perfect wisdom that took on flesh, but we as believers are called to take part in a daily transformation that sees us becoming more and more like Jesus – not more and more like Victor Meldrew.
So James writes, ‘The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere’ (3:17). This is the genuine article. This is what God wants people to see in you and experience through you; and this is what it means to live and to be distinctive as a Christian.
Whatever you do, don’t say, “I’ve been in this Church too long to change now”, or, “I’m too set in my ways to change”, or, “I’ve done too many things wrong to change”; and especially don’t think, “People expect me to be like this. I can’t change. I won’t change, like it or lump it.” We wouldn’t say that face to face with God, so let’s not say that to ourselves or each other.
Let’s put our hearts in the dock and let’s ask God to come and do something wonderful, to transform us from one degree of his glory to another as he has promised to do. St. Paul writing to the Corinthian church puts it like this: ‘…whenever anyone turns to the Lord the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).
God’s transforming presence can transform you, now, today, in the present, and every day.
In verses 14-16 James tells us about earthly, unspiritual, devilish wisdom. He refers to ‘bitter envy and selfish ambition’ (3:14). Bible scholars tell us that ‘envy’ in this context means rivalry or literally a harsh zeal for truth within a believer; so ‘bitter envy’ describes a rigid, harsh, unbending attitude towards opponents. It describes the one who believes they’re right in sticking to their guns over an issue of faith and belief whereas in fact they’re being pig-headed and unloving; and James links this with ‘selfish ambition’. This describes a selfish party-spirit which drives a leader to break away from the Church and take people with them. Now of course throughout Church history there have been painful times when parts of the Church have gone in separate directions over serious issues of belief, faith and conscience; what James describes is an underlying, ungodly rivalry that leads to a split; and he implores people not to claim that such a split is God-given or motivated by God. He says, “do not boast about it or deny the truth’ (3:14).
As we put our hearts in the dock is there anything in you of an ungodly, party-spirit, a zeal that drives a wedge between - and splits - people? Offer it to God.
In contrast ‘the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere’ (3:17). This is the genuine article and this is what God will grow in every believer open to him.
Heavenly wisdom is pure. This means we will become totally devoted to walking God’s moral path, affecting our speech, our thought-life and how we behave towards one another; and it means no unjust motives.
It is peace-loving. This refers not to a love for peace in my own heart but to a love for community peace.
Heavenly wisdom is considerate. By this James points to a non-combative spirit, a heart that is gentle, courteous, and forbearing.
True wisdom is submissive – willing to yield, approachable, conciliatory. It is the exact opposite of the heart that is obstinate and adamant.
God’s wisdom is full of mercy and good-fruit. It is full of mercy towards people who are in the wrong. It is not vindictive. It’s compassionate and kind and rewards discourtesy with benevolence and love. It is the exact opposite of earthly wisdom and has nothing to do with Robert Greene’s 48 unspiritual laws.
The wisdom that comes from heaven is impartial and sincere. There is no favouritism and it is genuine.
God’s wisdom at work in us does not pretend to be anything other than it actually is. What you see is what you get; but what you see and what you get is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
No-one else is in the dock. This is not about them, or him, or her. This is about God’s light shining upon you. You might not like what you see. You might be well aware of how much you are not pure, considerate, submissive, sincere, etc.; and that’s why each of us needs to go on being filled day by day by the holy transforming presence of His Spirit.
Let’s pray together.
