Image: "Desiring Wisdom", 2012, Garden near Great Wall, PRC
James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
James 3:15–18 This wisdom does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
___________________________________________________________
There are "smarts" and there are "street smarts." Someone may be "really smart" in academics and yet not very "savvy" in their everyday life. Most of us readily accept that intelligence does not necessarily equate to wisdom. We don't think about it often but we acknowledge that truth when it comes up.
We are less and less precise in the use of language as time goes on. We blur meanings and attach names to things and situations so as to sound more sophisticated or, all too often, to obscure some events. "Illegal immigrants" become "undomesticated workers." "Freedom of choice" shifts the conversation away from the "right to abort." Language takes on a "dulling" effect as we lose conceptual and analytical tools. In this environment "wisdom" suffers.
James and the other Biblical authors go to some lengths exhorting us to desire and attain "wisdom." There was little confusion about that term in those times. "Wisdom" was not at all isolated to what we would call "book learning." A person was not "wise" because they had attained comprehensive knowledge of a subject leading to a Ph.D. "Wisdom", as classically understood by the ancients, from the Israelite prophets through Plato and Aristotle and carrying through to the middle ages, is the "art of living well." It included practical skills, such as how to fix a plumbing problem, to astute business practice. The ancients, far more than we, understood this in terms of "going with the flow" in nature. All the great religions, including ancient Israel, understood all aspects of life through an "ethical framework." This was not entirely a question of "right and wrong" though the idea of "justice" was never absent. Rather it was a question of "you reap what you sow." This is because there was a moral law inherent in nature. If a person aligned themselves with that moral "flow" then the prospect of a good outcome was greatly enhanced. We see this in the Pagan ideas of "fate" and "karma" as well as the Biblical teachings. The difference, of course, was in the Judeo-Christian revelation that all "ethics" were grounded in a Personal God Who governed His creation with equity and justice and required His people to conform to His righteousness or live in peril.
With those ideas before us, we can generalize about "wisdom." We can say that it is the "art of living well." It is an "art" not a skill because it is a conditioned achievement. It requires practice, discipline, and discernment. "Wisdom" is developed in Christians by the inworking Holy Spirit guiding us in the pathways of wisdom and, beyond question, it is the "art of living well" in whatever our circumstances, no matter how dire or difficult, because it is the pathway of blessing.
James expands our understanding by distinguishing two types of "wisdom": "earthly" and "heavenly." Now proponents of each type of wisdom would agree with the above, at least to some extent. Those who align themselves with "earthly" wisdom will argue that it is exactly the way to live "well." The way to flourish in a "dog-eat-dog" culture is to be the top dog. Money may not buy everything but it makes "not having everything" a lot better than otherwise. The fundamental idea of earthly wisdom is that it is grounded in "pleasure" and therefore hearkens back to Epicurus and his followers.
But let's scan what James says are the actual fruits of earthly wisdom. He says that it harbors or produces "bitter envy... self-seeking... boasting... lying against the truth... confusion... and 'every evil thing'." Quite frankly, if we detach ourselves from our passions and lusts, this kind of life doesn't sound like "living well" at all. In contrast, James teaches that the "wisdom that is from above" is "pure... peaceable... gentle... full of mercy... good fruits... without partiality and without hypocrisy." (vs. 15-18) While we readily acknowledge that a person who is filled with heavenly wisdom might very well be suffering persecution, or hunger, or ill-treatment that would not be the case if they pursued "earthly wisdom", yet, we must see that this is the entire point.
"Living well" means being at "peace" in the world. Heavenly wisdom produces the "fruit of righteousness" which sows peace in the world... its practitioners "make peace." (vs. 18) It is the earthly wisdom that breeds all the chaos, confusion, pain and suffering in the world. Those who earnestly pursue heavenly wisdom are the "peacemakers" whom Jesus promised would receive peace.
How does a person seek and attain "heavenly wisdom." It is found in Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Scriptures. "Wisdom" is a Person. When we open our eyes and our minds to embrace Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, as the incarnation of heavenly wisdom, then we start seeing things differently. We live more and more each day "in Christ" which means that we live and move and have our being in the sphere of Christ. We see the world through His eyes as it were. We begin to understand the forces that impact us and bear down on us, both for good or ill, more accurately. We undertake to align ourselves with God's will so that it is done on earth as it is in heaven. In doing so, as the Psalmist sang, we are led in "green pastures" and by "still waters." "Our cup overflows" as "peace" rises to encompass our souls.
This is not some esoteric, mystical mind-game. This is living in the real world as God, through Christ, has revealed the real world exists.
Comments