16th Sunday after Pentecost
24th September 2006
Text: James 3:14-4:10
TWO KINDS OF WISDOM
James defines wisdom in a very down to earth way. When we think of the wise man we may think of the sage who sits on a mountain top meditating on the nature of the universe. His devotees climb the rugged mountain top and ask him the meaning of life, the universe and everything and receive some tid-bit of wisdom leading to enlightenment. But James defines wisdom in a much more ordinary way. Wisdom is seen by living a good life, and by deeds done in humility.
The opposite of this kind of life, James calls “demonic.” When we hear that word we usually think of the dark shadowy underworld of evil spirits. We may think of black magic or witches covens. Or perhaps we think of exorcisms and holy water being sprinkled on possessed people or vomiting pea soup projectiles. Then we read James and find that the demonic is a lot closer to home than that. It’s a lot more ordinary and a lot more common. This is what James says is demonic - harbouring bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, and then either boasting about it or denying it. “Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” (15-16)
Webster’s Dictionary defines envy as “a feeling of antagonism towards someone because of some good which he is enjoying but which one does not have oneself || a coveting for oneself of the good which someone else is enjoying…”
We can do two things with this earthly, unspiritual, and demonic impulse within us - we can boast about it or we can deny it. There’s a lot of boasting about this in reality television, especially those based on competition, as most of them are. If you watch something like Survivor or Fear Factor you will find this attitude quite common. “I am pumped to win. I’m going to wipe the floor with you losers.” Bitter envy and selfish ambition hanging right out there for all to see. This is a more extreme case but it happens more subtly in the workplace, in our chosen professional careers, where we are pressured to be confident about asserting our superiority to the next guy or girl in the pecking order in a desperate attempt to move up the ladder of success.
The other option is to deny our envy and selfish ambition. This is to take the passive aggressive approach. We still have our sights fixed on winning and succeeding at whatever cost, but we keep our ambition hidden within us until the opportune time. We are like those fish that can completely flatten themselves and hide under the sand of the ocean floor with only their beady little eyes peeping out above the surface. When their unsuspecting prey swims close to them there is a rapid flurry as a cloud of sand and water is thrown up and it’s dinner time for the hidden predator.
Whether we boast about our bitter envy or selfish ambition or hide it, James says it is “earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.” And wherever these things are found according to v. 16 “you find disorder and every evil practice” . Surely this is not true wisdom.
It was this bitter envy and selfish ambition that Jesus found among his disciples in today’s Gospel reading (Mark 9:30-37). They had travelled to Capernaum together and when they arrived in the house where they were staying Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called them together and said “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Years ago, a large statue of Christ was erected high in the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile – called “Christ of the Andes.” The statue symbolizes a pledge between the two countries. As long as the statue stands, there will be peace between Chile and Argentina. Shortly after the statue was erected, the Chileans began to protest that they had been slighted, because the statue has its back turned to Chile. Just when tempers were at their highest, a Chilean newspaper writer saved the day. In an editorial that not only satisfied the people but made them laugh, he simply wrote, “The statue of Christ faces Argentina because, “The people of Argentina need more watching over than the people of Chile.” [David Owens, “The Cure for Conflict,” http://sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=92721]
In contrast to the so-called wisdom of the world, “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. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness (17-18).”
What causes such fights and quarrels as the one that occurred among Jesus’ disciples and that still break out among Christians today? James answers that question in chapter 4:1-3. “ Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
The world is set on a trajectory of wanting things that are ultimately of no value - wealth, success, notoriety, fame. Or it is seeking truly valuable things such as love, meaning, and authentic relationships but looking for them apart from God where they cannot be found.
Fifteen years ago the dominant value among first year university students in America was “finding a meaningful philosophy of life.” Today that value is number eight on the list. “Being well off financially” is now at the top of the list of 70 percent of those surveyed. [Tom Sine, “Life with a Difference,” World Christian (September/October, 1988) 5].
Even prayer can be futile if it is prayed with the wrong motives. Either people do not have what they need because they don’t ask God, or they ask God but with impure motives.
James then begins to use very strong words indeed, words which, for whatever reason, have been removed from the Revised Common Lectionary reading. I don’t know why the compilers of the lectionary chose to excerpt them but I sincerely hope it was not because they were considered too confronting!
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.”
This doesn’t mean that we cannot make friends of non-Christians. It means that we cannot have the same outlook as the world - we cannot be friends with the values of success at any cost, with seeking the good life outside of a reliance on God, we cannot make friends with bitterness, envy, and quarrelling.
The apostle John warns, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:15).
Most probably the Psalmist did have a physical distancing of himself in mind when he wrote in Psalm 1 “Blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but who delight in the law of the LORD and meditate on his law day and night.” But we certainly cannot take that approach today. It would be unwise, of course, for us to make our principle friendship circle consist of unbelievers, but we cannot shun them if we are called to be salt and light to the world. However, we cannot share their values, walk in step with them or with their ways. Indeed we cannot walk in step with unbelievers and in step with the Spirit at the same time. Jesse was recently mocked by some of his friends because of his and Rachel’s commitment to celibacy outside of marriage which is completely out of step with the values of his old Aitken College school friends. I was proud or the stance he took but also felt the pain of his rejection.
There is an interesting variant reading of 4:5 “Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” It’s an unusual expression but the alternative reading is “the spirit he caused to dwell in us envies intensely“ or “the Spirit he caused to dwell in us longs jealously.” When we dabble with worldly behaviour, practices, and attitudes the Spirit grows jealous within us. He wants us for himself not because he is insecure (this is usually the basis of sinful human jealousy) but because he knows what is best for us and wants us to experience the fullness of life that he offers. Our God is a jealous God. This is why we feel the pangs of conscience when we act out of step with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit within us is jealous for us and our actions grieve him leaving us feeling miserable and unhappy.
But the good news is, according to verse 6, “he gives us more grace.” Annie Johnson Flint, the hymn writer, put it this way:
He giveth more grace, when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength, when the labors increase,
To added affliction, He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
His love has no limit,
His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto man,
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
So what is James’ remedy for the demonic impulses that are harboured within? It comes in verse 7-10. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
The book of James is addressed to Christians of course as are all of the books of the New Testament. It’s unusual for Christians to be called “sinners” in the New Testament. Paul certainly prefers the word “saints.” But James’ prophetic message seems to be addressed to believers who are living inconsistently. They are in fact not sinners but saints, because they are “in Christ” so they are God’s people and should no better than to be living the way they are. They are not submitting themselves to God. They are not sufficiently resisting the devil. They are not drawing as near to God as they should. As a result their hearts are not pure, and they are double-minded. James has already stated in 1:8 that double minded people are “unstable in all they do” and what he has been dealing with in this chapter is the result of such instability n the Christian life.
Over and over again, Lucy would offer to hold the football while Charlie Brown kicked it. But time and time again, as he ran up to kick the ball, Lucy would pull it away, and Charlie Brown would fly into the air and land flat on his back. One day, Lucy offered to hold the football again, Charlie Brown declined saying he knows how it always goes, and he does not want it to happen again. As soon as he accused Lucy of her past wrongs, she began weeping, “Oh, you’re so right. I admit that in the past I’ve played cruel tricks on you. But I’ve seen the error of my ways. I’ve seen the hurt in your eyes. Won’t you give this poor repentant girl another chance?” Charlie Brown said, “Okay.” So he backed up, ran up to the ball, and just as he was about to kick it, Lucy pulled the ball away. Once again Charlie Brown ended up on his back.
As Lucy walked away, she commented to a friend, “Unfortunately, recognizing your faults and actually changing your ways are two different things.”
[David Owens, “The Cure for Conflict,” http://sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=92721]
We live in a very therapeutic age where people are diagnosed with conditions that often seem to take away their moral responsibility. People are said to have “poor impulse control” or “oppositional defiant disorder.” We used to call it lack of self control or refusal to submit to authority but now we assign clinical names that somehow give the impressio that people are less responsible for their actions.
To these, the Apostle’s counsel is not “cheer up; it can’t be that bad.” He doesn’t pour out false comfort and say “Hey nobody’s perfect; God loves you just the way you are.” No, he says “Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Two kinds of wisdom are set before us today . The first is a “wisdom” in quote marks that is not wisdom at all but “earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.” On the other hand there is the true wisdom which comes from God and is first of all peaceable. The image on page 3 of our bulletin today sets before us two divergent paths. If we recognise our fault today in having taken the wrong path we know something perhaps Lucy didn’t know. She recognised of course that “recognizing your faults and actually changing your ways are two different things.” But she may not have known was that God’s grace is offered to empower us to choose the right path and to stay upon it.
