It has been estimated recently that, with the exponential growth of information technology, more data has been produced in the last thirty years than in the previous five thousand. I don’t know how true that is because it strikes me that it’s pretty difficult to calculate that accurately, but what is sure is that we have at our disposal today more access to information than at any time in history.
And with the Internet, certainly, we have more knowledge at our fingertips than we can possibly process. Somebody once compared accessing information from the Internet to getting a cup of water from the Niagara Falls.
Our world is a bounty of knowledge but let me ask you this question: Would you say that the world is a wiser place than it was thirty years ago? For all its education and access to information, is the human race wiser than it has ever been before?
Whether you’d say yes or no, I think we’d all agree that wisdom has not increased at the same rate as knowledge. It’s often lamented that we can put a man on the moon but it seems beyond us to bring reconciliation between two warring individuals.
I say this because there is a tendency in western culture to equate wisdom with study, knowledge and expertise. But in the Bible, wisdom is much more connected to lifestyle than to cleverness.
Knowledge is the accumulation of facts, imparted through education. But wisdom is moral insight with understanding about the right thing to do - and it is mostly gained through experience.
So, just to hammer home the difference between knowledge and wisdom, let me give you four quick examples of each. First of all, knowledge. Did you know?
· The hottest British summer on record is 1976 (when the average temperature was 17.8°C)
· To see the Great Wall of China from the Moon you would need eyesight that is 17 times better than normal 20/20 vision.
· Ants prefer the taste of boiled sweets to the taste of cheese.
· Trivia is the plural of the word trivium.
And now, listen to four pearls of wisdom, each of which come from the mouths of children:
· Nathan, age 9, says “Don’t tell your mum her diet is not working.”
· Alisha, age 8 says “Never try to baptize a cat.”
· Joel, age 12, says “Don’t pick on your little sister when she’s holding a cricket bat.”
· Ruth, age 6 says, “Never eat prunes.”
Each one of these children discovered their nugget of wisdom from bitter and indeed messy experience.
What about the Bible? This book will not necessarily make you clever but it will make you wise. Paul wrote to Timothy about the Holy Scriptures which, he said, “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3.15).
This is why we read this book; not to increase our knowledge about the ancient Middle East, though that may be fascinating and even rewarding. But the reason why we read and preach the Bible is to acquire wisdom to know God and to live well.
And James’ letter is deeply concerned with this kind of wisdom; how we recognise it, how we get it and how we use it.
How You Get Wisdom
How do you get wisdom for life? I said just now that you get it from experience but what if you need wisdom at short notice? What if you need it now?
It’s no good waiting for a lesson from the school of hard knocks when you’re in a crisis is it? James’ recommendation (in chapter 1, verse 5) is so simple it seems almost too simple. He says you ask for it.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
Sounds too easy doesn’t it? You send up a lightning “Help, give some me wisdom!” prayer when unexpectedly confronted with an awkward situation. It’s amazing how God answers.
Here’s a true story. A young couple turned up on a vicarage doorstep looking very troubled and asking to speak with the minister. So he sat them down and asked them what was wrong. “Well,” they said, “we’ve been married for a couple of months and we’ve made a terrible mistake. We think we should divorce. We are just so different and we can’t get on. It’s a disaster. We drive each other mad.” And they went on to explain how their life together was a total mismatch, bringing deep unhappiness to both.
What would you say in a situation like that? As he was listening, the minister quickly prayed “Lord, give me wisdom” under his breath and immediately an idea flashed into his mind.
He said, “I’m going to ask you to go away and follow these instructions to the letter.” Turning to the husband, he said “For a week, you’re going to live her way;
· you’ll leave the lid off the toothpaste
· you’ll dump your clothes all over the bedroom floor
· you’ll save less and spend more
· you’ll sleep with the window open
· you’ll leave things to the last minute and then rush around before going out
· you’ll considerately put the toilet seat down
· and so on.”
Then, turning to the wife, he said “The following week, you’re going to live his way;
· you’ll carefully put the lid back on the toothpaste
· you’ll tidy your clothes away leaving nothing on the bedroom floor
· you’ll spend less and save more
· you’ll sleep with the window closed
· you’ll get ready with half an hour to spare before going out
· you’ll even considerately put the toilet seat up after use
· and so on.”
“And then I want you to revert back to living her way, but this time for two weeks, and then back to his way for two weeks, then each way for three weeks - and then come back and see me and let me know how you got on.”
Well, they came back a few months later with big smiles on their faces. “We’ve had such fun, we’ve learned so much about each other, we’ve learned quite a bit about ourselves… and things are much better.”
If you need wisdom, ask God for it.
Who is Wise?
Looking at the passage we had read to us this morning now, James begins by asking the question in v13, “Who is wise and understanding among you?”
I could ask the same question and ask for a show of hands. Most of us would be reluctant wouldn’t we? We don’t want to look too full of ourselves. But no one wants to be seen as foolish or unwise. We all want to be perceived as intelligent and “in the know.”
So how do you know if you are a wise person? According to v13, the leading indicator is not how much you know, or how aptly you say things, or even how sound your decisions seem to be. The most reliable gauge of how wise you are, according to God, is how you live your life.
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it (typical James, so practical) by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”
People who are wise in God’s estimation just get on with unassuming acts of kindness. Salt of the earth people, we say.
Do you know people like that? They’re just good to be with aren’t they? We like people like that. And we like people like that because Jesus is like that and we all want to be around people who are like him.
Worldly Wisdom
But James tells us here that there are, in fact, two kinds of wisdom.
First, there is worldly wisdom which James says in v15, “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.”
This is the so-called wisdom of the know-all. It’s competitive, quarrelsome, and hair-splitting, always wanting to have the last word.
Here’s how the Message version translates it: “Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.”
Heavenly Wisdom
But there is also a heavenly wisdom, and in v17 we read, “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.”
Real wisdom begins, not with a top education, but with a pure life. “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure.”
Everybody here knows how to be on best behaviour when the boss comes in. The real question is who are we when no one’s looking?
Anyone can act holy, but God says “Be holy”, which requires true repentance - a complete change of mind. Real wisdom is pure.
Real wisdom is also… peace-loving and considerate.”
If you find yourself constantly in relational tension, find out why. I know my name’s John but let me be frank for a minute; constant anger and animosity does not flow being right with God.
I was speaking with a good friend once and he was telling me how people were so irritating and annoying and that his everyday situation was completely exasperating and infuriating. He went on for quite a while and I knew this was a repeated theme in his life so I said to him “What if the common denominator of all your adversity is you?”
Then I became irritating and annoying and exasperating – which kind of underlined my impression that I had correctly identified the source of the problem. Real wisdom is peace-loving and considerate.
Real wisdom is also… “submissive.”
Nobody I’ve met so far likes that word. But it’s not about letting yourself being pushed around, it’s to do with our openness to correction – it means teachable, it means willing to listen to reason. Proverbs 12.15 (Good News Bible) says, “Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice.” Are you teachable or incorrigible? Real wisdom is submissive.
Real wisdom is also… “full of mercy and good fruit.
It’s one thing to show kindness to someone who is in trouble isn’t it? But this is talking about showing kindness to someone who is in trouble through their own silly fault!
Mercy doesn’t ask if the person in need is responsible or not. Mercy is just mercy. That’s why James says it is impartial.
I thank God he didn’t ask himself if the mess I was in was my own fault or not before he showed mercy to me! Real wisdom is full of mercy and good fruit.
And then real wisdom is also… “sincere.” The word is anypokritos, literally “without hypocrisy.” It’s not for show. It’s real. Let’s not do good just to impress others, let it come from a heart for God.
Ending
To end, what about Solomon? Was he wise? The Wisdom of Solomon is proverbial. There’s a story in 1 Kings 3 that is well known, even by people who aren’t familiar with the Bible. You remember the story?
Two women each have a baby. During the night, one baby dies and a dispute arises about which woman the living baby belongs to, so they ask Solomon to sort it out.
Solomon says he can’t decide, so he gives the order to cut the living child in two and give one half to each mother.
The real mother begs that the baby be given to the other mother to spare his life. The bogus mother, in her jealousy, says “OK, cut him in two!”
Then Solomon knew that the baby belonged to the first woman, for her maternal love was all the proof he needed.
So was Solomon wise? You would think so. But this was a man who went on to marry 700 wives and take 300 concubines. Forgive me, but would you call a man who brings 700 mothers-in-law into his life as wise?
We think of Solomon as wise, and God did give him good judgment, but he ended up depending on his own human understanding rather than the wisdom from above.
In fact, the bottom line is this: Solomon was wise for others. People came from all over the earth to hear his wisdom. But I’m afraid he lacked wisdom for himself.
Result: (and this is where we must beware) he grew distant from God. He became forlorn and weary, even despairing, as the book of Ecclesiastes makes clear. He went from being the world’s wisest man to the world’s most knowledgeable fool. Soon after he died, his kingdom was torn in two and Israel’s Golden Age ended for good. So much for human wisdom.
So how wise are you? And what sort of wisdom do you have?
Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 14th August 2011.
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