Heavenly Wisdom – Part 3
Third, heavenly wisdom creates peace, which is a lot like sunshine; we appreciate it more after we’ve seen some rainy days. It may be fun to jump in mud puddles, but eventually, you will need to clean yourself up lest you rot. When one pursues heavenly wisdom, one works righteousness, and righteousness results in a peaceful relationship with both God and man. This behavior influences others (Matthew 5:16), and peace grows more peace. The whole point of this section is that heavenly wisdom builds relationships in an orderly and meaningful way as opposed to earthly wisdom that tears them down creating panic, fear, and chaos.
James is building an argument in chapters two and three. Chapter 3:13-18 part of his argument. This culminates in his condemnation of the sin of pride (chapter 4), which is at the root of every sin. All the evil that is in the world, all conflicts, wars and fights, envious passion, anger, lust, and worldly pleasures, they stem from fleshly desires that bend the heart to wickedness. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man” (Mark 7:21-23). These attitudes are the very opposite of God’s purposes in Christ Jesus.
Our calling as Christians is to participate in God’s eternal purpose, to unite all peoples together in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:8-12), to pursue the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:2). We can only do that by employing heavenly wisdom “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there” (James 3:16). May God help us to embrace heavenly wisdom.
God bless you and I love you.
Kevin Cauley