Mirror, Mirror
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 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. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
-James 3:13-18
James makes it pretty clear. If you and I want to reflect godly wisdom and understanding, we must live a life marked by humility, purity, peace, consideration, submissiveness, mercy, goodness, impartiality, and sincerity.
Does this sound countercultural to you? It is! The "wisdom" of the world looks and feels nothing like God's. Instead, it is earthly, unspiritual, bitter, envious, selfishly ambitious, chaotic, and even demonic. This tone is sadly familiar in the culture these days.
In my experience, some people find a random scripture and think God spoke to them but there is no humility, peace, submissiveness in the delivery. Sometimes, they find what they want to hear to self-justify or defend themselves. Instead of cultivating inward peace, submissiveness, and mercy, they try to use what they think they've heard to correct others or make them behave differently. They miss that the real problem is their tendency to self-justify. That's why James 3 is such an important test. The "word" becomes a weapon.
Beyond that, we must also be careful to guard our hearts and minds from the misguided influence of others. If we aren't discerning, our testimony may be influenced by the opinions of others—even other Christians marked by the culture. To know we are on track, you and I must test every word we receive as to whether it mirrors God's Word. The qualities described in James 3 will let you know whether or not it is our Shepherd who is speaking.
Interested in how to experience more of God's nature in your life? Watch for next week's blog.