Who is wise and has understanding among you? He should show his works by good conduct with wisdom’s gentleness. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t brag and deny the truth.
James 3:13-14 HCSB

The wisdom James is referring to here is the application of heavenly knowledge to earthly living. He is not referring to how many degrees you have, how much you have read or how eloquently you can debate. He is referring to God given wisdom which produces good conduct and gentleness.

To obtain wisdom from above, we must communicate with our Lord and Savior. We must understand the things of heaven and the way God intends for us to live. Earthly wisdom which comes from learning and training can produce bitter envy and selfish ambition. This is easily recognized because earthly wisdom sometimes seems to glorify the devil. Con artists are successful at what they do because they don’t care about others. They have bitter envy and selfish ambition. They have no problems cheating others out of their hard-earned money or their life savings. Many will do whatever it takes to rise in power or position.

James says if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition don’t be arrogant and lie about it. The fruits of earthly wisdom are bitter envy and selfishness. This is in direct contrast to the fruits of wisdom from above. You can spot those with earthly wisdom because they will often boast about what they have done to get where they are, even if they have had to trample others in the process.

James describes wisdom from above in verses 17-18. Just as bitterness and selfish envy is easily recognized, so is wisdom from above. It’s pure. It’s not tainted by selfishness and greed. It’s peace-loving. It will do what is possible to avoid strife because it prefers peace. It’s gentle. It does not boast and envy, it does not put down, but it lifts up. It is compliant. It does not have a spirit of rebelliousness but a spirit of self-control. It is full of mercy and good fruits. It causes us to put others above ourselves and therefore be merciful and good to others. It is unwavering without hypocrisy. Romans 3:23 tell us that all sin and fall short of the glory of God. There is no little sin or big sin, but we love to speak of the sins others have committed. Don’t forget we are all sinners. To speak negatively of someone because of their sin makes us a hypocrite. In verse 18 James says, “The seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” As Christians, we are to strive to produce righteousness.

It’s easy to point a finger at government officials and see that many of them claim earthly wisdom but clearly don’t possess wisdom from above. But where do you fall in this category? Can you describe your wisdom as pure, gentle, peace loving, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits and unwavering without hypocrisy? Or if you are being truthful is there bitter envy and selfish ambition thrown in there?

You or your parents may have spent thousands of dollars on degrees from fancy colleges, but nothing compares to God given wisdom. The good thing about wisdom from above is that it costs nothing. James tell us in 1:5-8 that we need only ask God for wisdom. God gives wisdom freely and graciously to all who ask. But we must ask in faith without doubting.

We are told in 1 Kings 3:2-15 that Solomon loved the Lord and the Lord offered to give him whatever he asked for. Solomon asked for wisdom. This pleased God so that He not only made him the wisest man on earth, but He also gave him great wealth and honor.

Many times, I prayed for those around me to change. I prayed for my circumstances to change. When I began to pray for wisdom and discernment, I realized that it was me that needed to change. I realized that with God’s help, I could strive for righteousness. God doesn’t always change our circumstances, but He can change us. He can help us as we strive for righteousness to respond in a better way. He can give us wisdom to get through hard times.

Righteousness is being in a right relationship with our Lord and Savior. You will never have righteousness without having wisdom from above. Pray for God to give you wisdom today. Pray for discernment. We are facing some difficult times in the world today. We will need wisdom from above to navigate these treacherous paths.

Have a great day!