The Meekness of Wisdom

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:13–18, ESV)

The Meekness of Wisdom

Every time I read this passage, one phrase leaps off the page: The Meekness of Wisdom. It leaps because we don’t typically associate these two words—even though scripture REPEATEDLY tells us that fools are arrogant and the wise are humble. Yet, we still associate wisdom with intelligence and intelligence with arrogance. We are brought back to our childhood days when we mockingly said, “You think your SO smart, don’t you?!” 

People become easily intimidated when they feel like they are talking to someone smarter than them. They feel like they need to measure up, prove themselves, say something smart OR they feel like they need to mock those who are smarter than them—take them down a notch, bring them down to their level. This is not wisdom, but foolishness. 

Bitter Jealousy and Selfish Ambition

James calls these two responses “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition.” 

Our desire to measure up, prove ourselves, and say something smart is easily summed up with the phrase “selfish ambition.” We’re selfishly trying to make something of ourself—selfishly trying to raise ourselves up to their level. In response to this selfish ambition, James tells us, “Do not boast and be false to the truth.” Stop trying to be something/someone you’re not. That’s being false to the truth. Stop boasting and trying to make yourself look good. That’s not real wisdom. 

On the other hand, our desire to bring others down to our level—mock them and take them down a notch—is called “bitter jealousy.” That’s right, let’s just call it what it is. There’s a bitterness in us because we’re not as smart as they are. There’s also a jealousy in us because we WANT to be as smart as they are. So, we try to “level the playing field.” Again, in response to this, James says, “Do not boast and be false to the truth.” Stop refusing to recognize the truth. They ARE smarter than you. Deal with it. 

Wisdom From Below, Today

James describes this process bluntly: “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” He gets right to the point, doesn’t he? This is DEMONIC, and it will only lead to disorder and vile practices. 

Today, we’re watching this “wisdom” play itself out across our country. Why are we seeing disorder and every vile practice? Jealousy and selfish ambition are running rampant—especially in the domain of information. Think about the last conversation you had with someone about one of our current “hot button” topics. How did it go? Let’s me guess. Each of you ended up in a one-ups-manship match of the wits. Each working hard to show the other person how smart and intelligent or “loving” you are. The conversation ended where it began. Both of you resolutely standing on your initial understanding of the topic. 

This is not the meekness of wisdom. This is not the wisdom from above. This will only lead to disorder and every vile practice. 

Wisdom From Above

Rather, here’s how James describes the wisdom from above: “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” Take a moment to let that sink in. Pure. Peaceable. Gentle. Open to reason. FULL of mercy and good fruits. Impartial. Sincere. Does that describe any conversations we’re having lately? No. No wonder we’re not seeing a harvest of righteousness and peace. 

The Meekness of Wisdom

In these divisiveness times, we must practice the meekness of wisdom. We must have conversations with people who are smarter than us and who disagree with us. We must make sure these conversations are PURE. We must work hard so that these conversations are PEACEABLE and GENTLE. We must be OPEN TO REASON—we must be willing to admit we are wrong, willing to listen carefully to the other side. Our conversations must be full of MERCY and GOOD FRUITS toward those with whom we disagree. We must work at being IMPARTIAL—not digging into a position because we are a “Democrat” or because we are a “Republican.” And, finally, we must be SINCERE—sincerely desiring to hear what the other person has to say AND sincerely stating why we believe what we believe.

This is true wisdom. This is what the meekness of wisdom looks like. If we refuse to live and speak this way—practicing the wisdom from below—we will continue to see disorder, vile practice, and division. However, if we’re willing to live and speak in the meekness of wisdom, God has promised we will see a harvest of righteousness and peace.