A little test this morning. You have 10 blanks there on your outline to answer the following questions -
1. How long would it take darkness to cover the earth if the sun went out?
O 4 1/2 minutes O 8 1/3 minutes O 25 minutes O 2 hours O 1 day
2. What percentage of all forms of life that have existed on Earth are now extinct?
O 50% O 65% O 70% O 85% O 95%
3. What is the most air polluted city in the United States?
O Chicago, IL O Denver, CO O Los Angeles, CA O New York, NY O Seattle, WA
4. What is the average speed at which a beard grows per year?
O 40mm O 140mm O 240mm O 340mm O 440mm
5. Anteaters actually prefer termites to ants. True or False?
O True O False
6. About how many dimples are there on a golf ball?
O 50 O 100 O 200 O 400 O 600
7. How many eyes does an earthworm have?
O 0 O 1 O 2 O 4 O 8
8. How much of a cucumber is water?
O 11% O 37% O 68% O 80% O 96%
9. It is estimated that about 7-million of these are thrown away every day. Is it...
O Publishers Clearing House entries O Tax dollars O Pennies O Sheets of unused paper
10. What animal does cashmere come from?
O goats O sheep O whales O lamas O bears
How did you do? If you got a significant percentage of those right people might say you are smart, or may wonder what the limits of your knowledge may be. Some might even call you wise, but if you have lived for very long, you know there is a significant difference between knowledge and wisdom.
For example a Massachusetts doctor and Harvard graduate was suspended for leaving a patient on the operating table midway through spinal surgery so he could deposit a check at his local bank.
The state board of medicine said David Arndt, an orthopedic surgeon, posed ‘an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare’ after he left the patient with an open incision in his back. After his 35-minute trip to the bank, Arndt returned to the operating room and finished the surgery.
Plenty of knowledge and education, but it didn’t necessarily bring along much wisdom. In fact, wisdom can often be learned from the fairly uneducated. Take children for instance. You may have heard some of these before. . .
• Patrick, age 10, says, “Never trust a dog to watch your food.”
• Michael, age 14, says, “When your dad is mad and asks you, ‘Do I look stupid?’ don’t answer him.”
(Example of Greg. . .”Do you want to go to bed?”)
• Wise man that Michael is, he also said, “Never tell your mom her diet’s not working.”
• Randy, 9 years of age said, “Stay away from prunes.” One wonders how poor Randy discovered that bit of wisdom.
• Lauren, age 9 says, “Felt markers are not good to use as lipstick.”
• Joel, 10 years old, says, “Don’t pick on your sister when she’s holding a baseball bat.” and
• Eileen, age 8 says, “Never try to baptize a cat.”
Or the other day I came across some rather helpful wisdom from an unlikely source.
Wisdom from cowboys. For example –
If you’re ridin’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.
How about this story. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him...The cowboy piece of wisdom, when you’re full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
Here’s a good piece of summer cowboy wisdom, never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
Free gift for Father’s Day, there’s two theories to arguin’ with a woman. Neither one works.
How about, if you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
And wisdom to always keep in mind from a cowboy, always drink upstream from the herd.
Some pieces of wisdom. Today we are looking at the topic of wisdom, as presented to us in James chapter 3. James 3:13 (read). Now, follow the flow of this letter that James has written. Remember, the recipients probably didn’t break it down like we do, and just read a few paragraphs every week or so. They likely picked-up this letter, and right off the bat they read these words from James saying that if you lack wisdom, ask God, and you will receive it. But don’t ask with doubt. Remember that from chapter one?
Then we get into chapter two, and they read his writing about this idea of faith without works, and that James says that kind of faith is dead. Then he talks to them about the use of the tongue. How dangerous and powerful the tongue can be.
In a few more verses we will head into chapter four, and he will talk about battles and strife that breaks out amongst us, and what causes them. All the while he is building this increasing contrast between things from above. . .and things from below. Remember, he said that every good and perfect gift was from above, but he referred to the fire of the tongue as being set in hell.
You can start to see a consistent flow of thought, and begin tying this whole letter together. And as we reach today’s segment of James, he wants to give us an understanding of wisdom that goes beyond someone just seeming smart. Seeming to know what they are talking about. And right off the bat he says, “You say you are wise? Then show me by the way you live.”
Just like with faith. If you say you have it. . .be it faith or wisdom.. . .then don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk. That is one of the major differences between knowledge and wisdom. You can have knowledge without application. Not wisdom.
One man has said, “If you lack knowledge, go to school. If you lack wisdom, get on your knees! Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge.”
Think about it. You can know stuff without doing anything about it. But you can’t be wise without application. Wisdom is the rubber that meets the road of knowledge and life. So James say. . .(read verse 13 through verse 16).
This is interesting. It appears that there is not just one flavor of wisdom. One type of wisdom. All wisdom is not good. In fact, James says that if wisdom is this application of knowledge to life, then there can be good and bad wisdom. Think about it. You can take a fact, a piece of knowledge, and you can apply that to life in good or bad ways.
For example. I’m about to go visit my mother-in-law. I happen to know that she really does not like it when CJ gets all worked up, running around her living room, jumping on her furniture, and having a good ol’ beagle time? That is a piece of knowledge I have about the relationship between my mother-in-law, and my dog. What can I do with that piece of knowledge?
Were I an ornery man, which we all know that I am not, I could get CJ all excited, start playing with her on the floor, get her really worked up, and just watch my mother-in-law squirm, and get all disturbed. But we all know that I wouldn’t do anything like that. So I can take the other route with that piece of knowledge, and make sure that I spend some time outside playing with CJ, letting her burn off her energy, so that when she is in the house she is the wonderful, calm, beautiful beagle that she is.
Now, depending on your perspective, one of those decisions would be wise, and the other would not be so wise. Kind of depends on your objective, plan, and whether you want to eat or not on vacation.
James says that you have two kinds of wisdom. Wisdom from above, and wisdom from below. So how do we know the difference? How do we discern which is which? In a world where everyone has an opinion, everyone is ready to offer up advice, how do we know if what we are being told is wisdom from above, or wisdom from below? Let’s break down these two kinds of wisdom.
He starts off by telling us that the first kind of wisdom he is going to describe for us is characterized by bitter envy and self-seeking. Verse 14 (read).
Let’s break down those words. Bitter envy. The bitter comes from the word pikros. Doesn’t mean bitter in a taste sense of the word, but in a harshness sense of the word. Might come from a word that refers to the idea of piercing. That bitter is combined with envy. Dzaylos. Interestingly enough, not so much about jealousy, as it is a word about zeal. About having an ardent spirit, that is pursuing something. So you have this combined idea of a piercing pursuit of something or someone. That is a characteristic of this first type of wisdom.
It is not working for the good of those that it is being shared with. It is attempting to stab, to cut into, to provide a harshness that is aggressively pursuing someone. Not a good thing. This is getting the dog riled up to annoy the mother-in-law.
The other way he describes it is self-seeking. Erithia. And more literally translated, this word means strife. In fact, before NT times, it can be found as being used by Aristotle to refer to pursuing political office through unfair means. Self focused. Self promoting.
So that is the description of this first type of wisdom. It is aggressive in attempting to destroy others, and to push self to the front. It is still wisdom. It is still taking pieces of knowledge, and applying them to daily life. But it is not being done in a Godly manner.
Where does this type of wisdom come from? According to James, the wisdom that is characterized by bitter envy and self-seeking does not come from above, is not Godly, but is what he describes as “earthly, sensual, demonic.” Not my words. Verse 15 (read).
You know, I have to admit at this point, that this is one of the reasons I like James. James is pretty cut and dry in his thinking. Remember what he said back in verse 6 (read). He doesn’t say the tongue is a fire because sometimes we slip up and are unkind. He doesn’t say the tongue is a fire because sometimes we are insensitive, or unaware of the whole situation, or speak out of turn. No, he says the tongue is a fire because it is set on fire by hell.
I personally like and agree with that delineation. We have made so many massive gray areas in the world today. Well, that behavior isn’t really Godly, but I’m not sure I would call it evil or demonic. James would. We have thrown out the whole idea that you are either for Him. . .Him being God, or against Him. We like to think there is this massive gray area where we can just dwell in ambivalence. But James doesn’t think so.
So when it comes to wisdom, he says that this wisdom that can be described as having bitter envy and self-seeking application, that type of wisdom is not just discounted as not from above. No, he says it is demonic. It is from Satan. From hell. It is some bad mo-jo.
How do we see this kind of wisdom? How do we discern its presence? Simple really. Confusion. And every other evil thing. Again, no mincing words. Verse 16 (read). Things are not just neutral. No. Rather where there is envy and self-seeking, wisdom that is demonic, there is confusion and not just some, but every evil thing.
Application. If there is spiritual confusion in your home, is it possible that it is because there is wisdom that is not from above having influence in your home? I’m not talking confusion about whether you should paint the room blue or green, but spiritual confusion. Is your household on the same page spiritually? Or is there confusion about what your home believes is truth. That comes from the presence of demonic wisdom. Horoscopes. Fortunes tellers. Psychic hotlines.
If there is confusion at your work. . .is it possible that it is because there is wisdom that is not from above having influence in the work place? Duh. Probably should have started with that one. We can just about all buy into that one can’t we? Sure, we’ll say there are evil things and confusion at the work place because there is envy and self-seeking going on that is the result of demonic wisdom. Or at least earthly wisdom, since I know some people are uncomfortable with that whole “demonic” word.
What about the church? Now it will probably get pretty quiet. Is it possible that there can be spiritual confusion in a church, and it isn’t just because different people have a different vision? It isn’t just because different people think things should be done in a different way? Is it possible that it can be a result of envy and self-seeking that exists because people are operating from a basis of wisdom that is earthly, sensual. . .even demonic?
This is hard stuff folks. No one said this book would be easy. Remember, it’s the “In Your Face Letter”. But that is what James says. He says there are two kinds of wisdom. And one kind is marked by bitter envy and self-seeking, and that is because it is a demonic wisdom, and where it exists there will be confusion and every evil thing.
However, I believe our God is a God of order. One of the very first acts we read about in the Word of God was when He took this mass without form, and shrouded in darkness, and described in some translations as clouded in chaos, and brought beautiful order to it.
So I believe that when the wisdom of God, the wisdom from above is prevailing in a home, at a workplace, within a body of believers. . .there will not be confusion. Like James, I believe confusion is a tool of the enemy. It is a weapon that Satan utilizes to defeat people. And it is a signal to the existence of demonic wisdom in the midst.
That is just one type of wisdom. What is the other type? Verse 17 (read). So what are the descriptors for this type of wisdom? Have to move through them quickly.
It is first pure. I really like this one. The Greek there is men hagnos. Reminds me of Hagen Daz. Which I know is not Greek. . .but is a nice pure ice cream. What it really means from the Greek, and without my food addiction, is truly sacred. Pure wisdom. Truly sacred wisdom.
Then peaceable. I-ray-kneekos. A loving peace. Bringing peace with it. That marks this second kind of wisdom. It brings peace with it.
James says it is gentle. E-pee-ikas. Has this idea of being patient, fair, gentle. Isn’t that the kind of wisdom you want people imparting into your life? Wisdom that is patient, fair, gentle.
Willing to yield. This one is interesting, because you have to pay really good attention here. He is talking about this idea of being compliant. Persuadable. But if you have this kind of wisdom, who does that mean you are being compliant to? Who are you being persuaded by? By that wisdom from above. By the source of that wisdom. By the Holy Spirit.
He says it is full of mercy and good fruits. Ties right back to where he started in verse 13. This wisdom is evident in action. There will be mercy and good fruits that flow from this wisdom. It isn’t just knowledge, it is action. Action of love and spiritual profit.
And then he ties back to some themes he has already shared in this letter. Without partiality and without hypocrisy.
Man. . .isn’t that an awesome sounding wisdom. Listen to that all together again (read verse 17). There is almost a soothing, a calm, that comes from hearing that description of wisdom. You can almost sigh and think, “Man. That is the kind of wisdom I want in my life.” That is wisdom that James says comes from above.
So how do we see that kind of wisdom? How do we discern its presence? Once again, it is pretty simple. Verse 18 (read). Peace. There’s that word again like in verse 17. I-ray-nay. And in this form, it was a term that was used to refer to a nation in a state of tranquility. With harmony, and security. Exempt from havoc and war.
Just think about it. Look at the nations of the world. Look at Iraq. Would you call that a nation of tranquility? Of peace? Exempt from havoc and war? Of course not! So what does that tell you, what can you discern? How about that it isn’t a country that operates under the guidance of wisdom from above. Right?
What about this great nation? The United States of America. Would you say we are a country of peace? Harmony? Tranquility? What does that tell you, what can you discern about our country? We aren’t a country that operates from the guidance of wisdom from above. Right? In fact, wouldn’t you say that acts of bitter envy and self-seeking more typify the American life? So which description of wisdom are you seeing played out?
But let’s not pick on big ol’ countries. How about your home? Which description, which discernable definitions more reflect your home? Confusion or righteousness? Envy or peace? James would say that is a direct result of where you are getting your wisdom from.
Let’s wrap this up. I just want you to make some simple connections today. First, knowledge does not equal wisdom. Wisdom is the application of knowledge, and until you do something with what you know. . .you are not wise.
Second, wisdom does not equal Godliness. Righteousness. And there aren’t 1,400 different types of wisdom. There is wisdom from above, and wisdom from below. So which type of wisdom are you listening to? Who is advising your life? Oprah, or Obadiah? Dr. Phil, or Philippians? Montel or Matthew?
Folks, I am greatly concerned about the amount of input, and reflection that Christian people are allowing to enter into their lives that is wisdom that is not from above. And not only do we allow a ton of wisdom not from above into our lives, but we rarely counter it with a proportional amount of wisdom that is from above.
And third, the wisdom you receive will be reflected in the fruit of your life. If it is wisdom from below, the fruit will be confusion and every evil thing. If it is wisdom from above, the fruit will be righteousness, and peace. So which type of fruit are you seeing in your life?
There was an angel who appeared at a faculty meeting and told the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord would reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, infinite wisdom, or infinite beauty.
Without hesitating, the dean selected infinite wisdom.
"Done!" said the angel, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning.
Now, all the heads turned toward the dean, who sat surrounded by a faint halo of light. After a long period of silence, one of his colleagues whispered, "Say something."
The dean sighed and said, "I should have taken the money."
Many people would probably rather have money than godly wisdom. Until they need the wisdom, and then no money can buy it. Solomon knew that, so he asked God for wisdom, and through Godly wisdom received great wealth. Do you desire wisdom? Wisdom from above?
Well. . .that’s the Word on Wisdom. At least James word on wisdom. As I pack up my beagle and head toward Oklahoma, I hope you will spend some time reflecting on true, Godly wisdom, and how you can make it the prevailing influence in your life.
Let’s pray.
