Indulge this thought for a moment. If God invited you to make one wish which He would grant, what would you ask for? What problems persist in your life that you might immediately erase? What dreams repeat themselves that you would make possible? Would you ask for wealth? Power? Love? Legacy? Fame?

James picks up the theme of wisdom in our passage, introducing us to two systems that exist in this world: there is earthly wisdom, and there is heavenly wisdom. In typical James fashion, he is still drawing the connecting lines between what we proclaim and how we perform. If we proclaim to believe in Jesus, our lives should be marked by wisdom that finds its source from Jesus. However, James understands that, unfortunately, we are not a perfect mirror image of Christ, and therefore even those in God’s Kingdom community could possibly be operating according to a system of wisdom that “makes sense” but is destructive, division, and demonic. 

Read James 3:14-16

According to these verses, here's how you can identify earthly wisdom.

• (v14) Those who operate according to worldly wisdom are bitterly jealous, selfishly ambitious, boastful, and deniers of the truth. When these are the values of our worldview, we are far more concerned with our own power and reputation than that of Christ. We will treat people poorly because of our insecurities, striving to elevate ourselves above others so that we retain power and influence.
• (v15) Four Characteristics of False Wisdom:
  • Does not come from above - this wisdom does not find its source or its nature in the ways of Jesus.
  • Earthly - physical and temporal, as well as a sense of corrupted morality.
  • Unspiritual - earthly wisdom does not produce the fruitful life which is manifest in union with Jesus.
  • Demonic - false wisdom finds its origins in sources other than God. When our motive is to elevate ourselves, divide the body, and aggressively seek our own goals, we find the source of these motives in a world other than the high place of Heaven.
• (v16) If earthly wisdom is the operating system of God’s people, God’s people will be divided, and wickedness will be the norm. Control and power will be the anchors.

Now that we've identified the definition of earthly wisdom, we'll look at how James defines heavenly wisdom tomorrow!