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. Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.
James 3:13-18 HCSB

Our scripture passage today shows two very distinct types of people and is very applicable to what is going on in the world today. Bitter envy and selfish ambition lie at the root of many problems that exist in the world today. People consider themselves to be wise in their own eyes. We are warned against this in Proverbs 3:7 which tells us that we should not consider ourselves wise, but we should fear the LORD and turn away from evil. When we consider ourselves wise, it leads to pride. We are told in Proverbs 16:5 that pride is an abomination to the LORD and it shall not go unpunished.

There is a beautiful young lady in our church that sometimes says, “It’s too Peoply out there.”  Now I never thought I would say that because I am a people person. But sadly, I am discovering more and more that she is right. It really is too peoply out there.

If you look around, you will see our scripture passage lived out all around you today. There are Christians that show love and gentleness and use God given wisdom. But there are so many people running around in the world that are envious, bitter, and promoting evil behavior.

I used to joke with my partner that our job would be great if it weren’t for the people. There weren’t just difficult people on the streets, but difficult people in the office and in the court system. So, how do we handle these people? We know that there will always be difficult people in our path. I think that God uses them to test us and the devil uses them to try to destroy our witness. But one thing we can rest assured of is that they are always there, sometimes they are lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce and sometimes they are up in your face.

Now if you think about our scripture passage, our world would be all sunshine and roses if everyone had and used God given wisdom. They would be gentle in their correction. They would keep their mouths shut when they needed to do so. They would treat others as they wanted to be treated (Matthew 7:12). We would be living a heaven on earth type of existence. This is what God intended for life on earth to be, but that got all messed up when Adam and Eve succumbed to the devil’s temptation. But we can’t fault them for something that we continue to do today, right?

As the world becomes increasingly hostile I have but one question for you. Will you be a part of the problem or a part of the solution? When others encounter you, will they encounter God given wisdom tempered with a gentle spirit? Or, will they encounter jealousy and selfishness?

When you must go out and about, how you react to the insanity around you is what tells others where you stand. Proverbs 12:16 tells us that a fool’s displeasure is known at once, but whoever ignores an insult is sensible. Proverbs 15:1 tells us that a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.  Romans 12:18 tells us that if possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Matthew 7:1 tells us not to judge others so that we won’t be judged.

Can you imagine if everyone lived as the Bible instructs us to live and treated others as the Bible instructs us to treat others. What a wonderful world this would be. But we will have to wait till we get to heaven for that to happen. But while we await our transport to glory, we must be mindful of how we treat others. When we step into a world that is way too peoply, we must be the light that guides others to Christ. We must not join in with those who are lost to become a part of the problem. In John 13:34-35, Jesus is talking with His disciples knowing He is about to be crucified. He tells them to love one another as this is how all people will know that they are His disciples.

When you step out into the world and face those who are lost, remember to use your God given wisdom. This will make you pure, peace loving and full of mercy and good fruits. It will help you to sow peace so that you cultivate peace. When others see that joy and peace that we have amidst the chaos, it just might cause them to want some of that for themselves. Who knows maybe our Christianity can become contagious, making it a much better world even when it is too peoply.

Have a great weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a great weekend!