Not All “Wisdom” Is of God

My friend groaned and held his head in despair as a minister told yet another story of a church divided over personalities and style. Our inability to get along with one another is one of the great challenges for any leader, and James doesn’t imagine that teachers in the church, at any level, are exempt. James is well aware that there is more to teaching than mere knowledge. Wisdom comes in different shapes and sizes, and not all of them are healthy! It is not proper qualifications that show you are wise but head, heart and will combined (13). Knowledge and character are not divided into separate compartments. Fear, obedience, wisdom and knowledge are intertwined in the Bible. Teachers are in the business of changing lives–for better or worse. Without a change of life there is no wisdom!

It shocks us to imagine demonic wisdom in the church, but many will have seen its fruit in the factions and divisions that can grip a church and divide congregations (14-16). Sadly, “bitter envy,” “selfish ambition” and “disorder” are not strangers to church life and it can seem frustratingly rare for church splits to be about the Gospel.

James is not naïve enough to imagine that church teachers can always avoid the divisive or that heavenly wisdom must be tastelessly bland (see 2:20 or 5:1 as an example), but he insists that those with this wisdom have the essential heartbeat of peacemakers (17,18). They teach to make friends for the truth, not to make enemies and divide over personalities or status. In a world that is obsessed with results it is striking to discover that this is the wisdom that reaps the harvest God is looking for!

According to James, how can you recognize a wise person? What two behaviors indicate a lack of wisdom? What is the model here for living wisely, living well?