Worldly Wisdom

Scripture:

But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t brag and lie in defiance of the truth.

Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
James 3:14-15


Observation:

Yesterday we saw an overview of what godly wisdom should look like. Today (and tomorrow) we see the fruits of ungodly wisdom.

James is saying if you have impure motives, if you put other people down in order to feel better about yourself, or if you will lie, cheat, or in any other way act unfairly to get recognized, that these are not behaviors to brag about. Don’t lie (to yourself or others). Because this behavior, and any knowledge, skills, or intelligence resulting from this is not from God, but is instead either fleshly or demonic.

And we are to be Kingdom minded.



Application:

It’s easy enough for us to lie to ourselves, thinking our motives are good when they are in fact selfish or impure. A repeating theme in James seems to be that our actions reflect our true heart (mind, will, and emotions).

It’s important to spend time on a regular basis asking God to continue to clean out the “yuck” in my heart.



Prayer:

Father, don’t let me go to bed at night with unconfessed sin on my heart. My heart’s desire is that my heart and my actions would reflect You to the world around me. Thank You for not giving up on me!