Real Wisdom & Cheap Imitations, II

SCRIPTURE: But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. James 3:14-16 NIV

THOUGHT: Wisdom and truth are inexorably bound together. They aren’t the same thing (at least until you get to the mouth of the river, see yesterday’s devotional), but they are a little like identical twins – hard to separate and hard to tell apart when you’ve finally got them alone.

But the cheap imitations aren’t so hard to spot: if you find “wisdom” without truth, or “truth” without wisdom, you’re going to find other things that are disordered, and downright evil.

James gives an example, and he also gives an antidote. If we envy others to the point of bitterness, or are so ambitious as to become selfish, we’ve got to own it. Call it what it is. Humans have several ways of disowning their disorder. Some pretend it away, others just change the truth to suit themselves. Some decide to own it and brag about it because it takes the sting of shame away. (Remember C.S. Lewis? “The cardinal problem [today] is how to conform reality to the wishes of man.”)

But the wise neither brag about their sin, nor deny the truth. They confess. They confess God’s truth – meaning they come into agreement with God about where things aren’t right in their hearts, and that’s what comes out of their mouths. Humility, not lies, not pride.

Put enough truly wise people in a room and you’ll have the peace that is available through humility and honesty.

PRAYER: We need the wisdom that comes down from heaven, dear Father.