Life constantly lays choices before us. Many are mundane: If we say yes to salmon at a restaurant, we also say no to chicken, beef, and every other meat. To order one dessert is, in a way, to reject all others. More seriously, to marry one woman is, as the vows declare, to forsake all others – every other woman in the world. To say yes to parenthood is to say no to a simpler life. Taken together, our choices of food and drink, of vocation and avocation, of marriage and parenthood, set our direction for life.

The same principle applies to our moral and spiritual life. We do not choose a spiritual direction the way we choose chicken over beef, but Scripture does say we face two paths for life. Jesus says there is a broad road that leads to destruction and a narrow road that leads to life. We can call Jesus, “Lord” truly or falsely. We can build our life on sand or on the rock, that is, on Christ (Matt 7:13-27). James presents the same idea in different terms. He says there are two ways of life, two kinds of wisdom. One wisdom is from the earth, even the devil; the other is from heaven (James 3:13-18).

In verses 13-18 James sets us the climatic indictment of human sin in James 4. There James says that his people desire, kill, and covet. In James’s list of sins, envy has a central place. Envy is the enemy of Christian living. It is the opposite of grace, for it wants to grasp rather than to give. Envy is the opposite of caring for the needy. Envy sees only its needs and desires. Envy thinks other people should care for themselves. Left to ourselves, we all live for ourselves and envy what others have. Yet God doesn’t leave us to ourselves. Before he develops his indictment of human sin in full, he presents two ways of life. We should choose the way of wisdom, yet we do not have the power in ourselves to do so. So, by grace, God’s wisdom comes down to us (3:15, 17).

James says that anyone who is wise and understanding shows it by his good life, by deeds that reflect wisdom. The way of wisdom is the way of humility. True wisdom is gentle, meek, humble. If we walk in the path of wisdom, we know that our wisdom is “from above” – a gift of God (v. 17). Humble faith, a faith that comes from heaven, is the source of the wise life. We tend to think of humility, gentleness, and meekness as personality traits, but they are more. A gentle person need not be feminine and a humble person need not be shy or retiring. A gentle man can be bold and tough.

James says envy and selfish ambition drive are of the devil (vv. 14-15). Fools despise humility. Envy and selfish ambition drive vices that are opposite of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:19-23). Paul’s “works of the flesh” feature social sins such as hatred, discord, jealousy, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy. The fruit of the Spirit is equally social. It includes peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and gentleness.

The Bible never praises selfish ambition, but to be accurate, we must say the Bible praises what we might call aspirations. For example, we should aspire to a quiet and productive life (1 Thess. 4:11), We should aspire to please the Lord (2 Cor. 5:9). Paul aspired to preach the gospel where the name of Christ was unknown (Rom. 15:20). So, it is fine to have goals or aspirations. We may have goals for the development of our gifts, for our family, for the lost, or for growth in wisdom or righteousness. God blesses those who have a passion for social justice. Everyone who is energetic, everyone with a taste for life, has ambitions. The Lord simply wants them to be godly, not worldly.

James has just described earthly wisdom and its miserable fruit. Now he describes wisdom from heaven and its blessed fruit. Like true faith, true wisdom is identified by the quality of life that it produces. It is “first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (v. 17). This verse shows that James expects wisdom to produce results. The phrase “good fruit” makes us think of external deeds, but most of the verse describes character traits. Purity is an innocence and moral blamelessness that embraces all other traits. The pure are separate from the world.

The next three terms – “peace-loving,” “considerate,” and “submissive” – are linked, in Greek, each word begins with the same vowel and each has a similar ending. But the three also stand together by their contrast with the strife, selfish ambition, and boasting that mark worldly wisdom. Taken together, these three Christian virtues characterize a church marked by peace and cooperation rather than strife and competition. Following this trio, James lists another set of virtues that are a little more loosely related.

“Full of mercy and good fruit” signifies that spiritual virtues produce results. Mercy is the general term for acts of undeserved kindness. Jesus both showed mercy and commanded mercy. Like Jesus, James stressed the need to show mercy. “Good fruit,” in turn, is the consequence of these deeds of mercy.

There is uncertainty about the best translation of the next term. Leading scholars and some translators believe the word translated “impartial” in the NIV and ESV is better translated as “unwavering”. It seems that James means unwavering for a couple of reasons: First, James commends unwavering loyalty to God later in this section of his epistle (4:7-8). Second, unwavering makes a better pair with the next term, “insincere” (literally, “not hypocritical”) James’s virtues form clusters. The opening trio “peace-loving, considerate, and submissive” all point to a unified church, and the final pair both indicate a wholehearted faith, a faith without wavering or hypocrisy.

The effect of these traits of wisdom is peace and righteousness for the family of God. If earthly wisdom brings strife, the wise man brings unity and peace. Righteousness flourishes when God’s people seek peace. God fashioned us to flourish in an atmosphere of peace. Clamor and noise, conflict and competition, bring out the worst in us. Proverbs says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov. 15:1).

James is clear. We must show wisdom, be gentle, and avoid selfish ambition. We should shun envy because it devours our souls. Still, a question remains. Since we all have a competitive side, since we all tend to fix our eyes on those who have something we want, how can we free ourselves from envy? If believers struggle with envy and godless ambition, it is because we fail to see our status as beloved children of God.

Faith begets a wisdom and a gentleness that let us say: “God has given me the talents I have, whether great or small. He has given me my place in life, whether prominent or obscure. Whatever my lot, I know God will bless me and I can serve Him faithfully.” These thoughts, born of faith, create peace. They liberate the godly aspiration that is free of envy. They give us peace and they sow peace in our community. They show that we are living in the light of the wisdom from above.

James 3:13-18 Study Questions:

How does the passage you are studying today follow logically from the passage you studied in the past lesson (James 3:1-12)? What case does James seem to be building in chapter 3?

According to 3:13, what kind of a life results from a commitment to wisdom? How does “meekness” contrast with the descriptions, actions, and attitudes that follow in 3:14-16?

What are the fruits, or results, of wisdom that in not from above, according to verses 14-16? Why might this be? Why do you think he chooses to mention these specific sins and vices in these verses?

Why might James still refer to earthly wisdom as a kind of “wisdom” (v. 15)? How might worldly approaches to wisdom have a kind of order and logic to them?

In verse 18, James’s concluding comments about God’s wisdom have to do with its final benefits and results; this peace-loving wisdom of God produces “a harvest of righteousness.” How might living according to God’s wisdom have disproportionate effects beyond one’s individual life? What other Scriptures might James have in mind as he writes these words?