Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does James Chapter 3 mean?

Words and wisdom are the focus of chapter 3. Uncontrolled words and the wisdom of the world always lead to destruction. Those who trust God understand that neither human speech nor human philosophy will lead them toward a faithful life.

First, James tackles the tongue. His bottom line: the tongue is unbelievably powerful, and it cannot be fully controlled. A person who could perfectly control his or her speech 100 percent of the time would have already arrived at full control of every aspect of the entire body, and their entire life. Yes, the tongue is small. So is the bit in a horse’s mouth, the rudder on a ship, or the spark that ignites a forest. That forest fire is the one James lingers on. He calls the tongue a fire that sets the whole course of our lives on fire and is itself set on fire by hell. He calls it a restless, unstable evil, full of fatal poison.

In fact, James insists, the tongue is untamable. We have no hope for controlling our words on our own as sinful human beings. Blessing and cursing shouldn’t come out of the same mouth; that’s bizarre and sinful. It’s as weird as salt water and fresh water coming out of the same spring together. It’s as weird as olive trees growing figs. And, yet, speaking both blessings and curses with the same tongue is normal behavior for sinful humans.

James next turns to the question of wisdom, insisting that wisdom is as wisdom does. This echoes his points from chapter 2, where he indicated that what a person does is a strong indication of what they actually believe. More specifically, in this chapter, James says wise people lead lives full of good works done in the humility of wisdom. James agrees with Solomon in Proverbs that wisdom always requires humility.

The wisdom of the world is built on an entirely different worldview. Instead of humility, worldly wisdom leads every person to make their lives about themselves. This mindset tells us to look at what other people have, decide what we want (bitter envy) and then make a plan to get it for yourself (selfish ambition). Success according to the world, then, is getting what you want in life.

James says this is a false perspective. Believing in such a philosophy leads to all the disorder, chaos, and evil we see in the world. The wisdom of heaven offers a very different strategy for living and leads to very different results. Because we trust God to provide what we need, we can let go of envy and selfish ambition. We can lead lives of peace, gentleness, reasonableness, kindness, and more. We can help plant peace and help bring in the harvest of righteousness.

Chapter Context
What does it look like to lead a life characterized by trusting God? Chapters 1 and 2 introduced the idea of how one’s actions demonstrate the reality of their beliefs. Here, in chapter 3, James continues to explore this effect. In this passage, he talks about our words and heaven’s wisdom. The one with perfect faith in God would have perfect control over his or her words. Worldly wisdom—envy and selfish ambition—with its me-first mentality is a source of disorder and evil in the world. God-trusting, self-sacrificing heavenly wisdom is the source of peace, gentleness, mercy and, ultimately, righteousness. Chapters 4 and 5 will make specific practical application of these thoughts.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Here, James launches into a new passage about controlling our words. He will connect this to the main idea of the chapter 2. This theme was that saving faith in God always leads to a believer participating in good works. As James notes in this very chapter, this does not mean perfection (James 3:2), but it does mean our deeds and words should reflect our faith in God.

James starts, however, with a warning about taking on the title of “teacher.” Not many Christians should aspire to be labelled as teachers, James writes. Those who claim the mantle of a teacher will face stricter judgment or “will be judged with greater strictness.” The more one claims to know, the more accountable they are held for what they do with that knowledge (John 9:41).

Bible scholars speculate that James’s warning was in response to a problem with too many self-titled teachers in the early Christian church. It could be that some truly thought they were wise, when they were still immature in their faith. It’s also possible some desired the respect given to teachers, but didn’t have either the spiritual gift of teaching or a lifestyle that reflected the truths of Christianity.

James is not suggesting that nobody should become a teacher. It is a much needed role in the church, and God empowers specific individuals to fill it (1 Corinthians 12:28; Romans 12:7; Ephesians 4:11). In the church, teachers are meant to help make the Word of God clear to other Christians. A teacher’s job, specifically, is not to prophesy or reveal new truths from God. Instead, they do the work of taking what has been revealed and making it easier to understand and follow.

As James makes clear, “teacher” is not a role which should be taken lightly. Teachers will face a stricter judgment. They will be held accountable to live by the truth they teach, as well as being responsible not to lead people away from God’s Word with their own words. The more a person claims to know, the more they are held accountable for acting according to that knowledge. And, the more a person claims the authority to teach, the more accountable they will be for how they lead—or mislead—other people.

As the next verses will reveal, this is a heady responsibility. Our words can be alarmingly dangerous.

Context Summary
James 3:1–12 discusses talking. This passage continues James’s big idea that faith and works go together. Specifically, that what one does (or says) proves what they really believe. Those who trust God, who really believe Him, begin to be changed in their speech, as well. And yet, everyone still stumbles. The tongue is untamable, capable of great destruction. In fact, James calls it a fire and a restless evil that is itself set on fire by hell. We need to be changed. It shouldn’t be that we praise God and curse the people made in His image. And yet, as fallen people, we do just that.

Verse 2. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

A common objection to the stance James takes on faith and works involves the concept of “perfection.” With all of James’s talk about how those who trust God do good works, it’s easy to make the mistake of thinking he is saying that Christians must be perfect. Some attempt to dismiss the connection between saving faith and good works by claiming it leads to perfectionism. That is, some claim tying works to saving faith means if we continue to sin, we are not really saved.

This verse makes it clear that James is not requiring perfection at all. The point of chapter 2 was that genuine Christians will participate in genuine good works in obedience to God. And yet, James is fully aware that fallible human beings will never do so without stumbling. James includes himself in this statement: “we all stumble in many ways” [emphasis added]. That should be encouraging. One struggle of the Christian life is our awareness of the many ways we continue to stumble. Knowing that James, like other New Testament authors, was not perfect should help put us at ease.

However, James also reveals that our goal is to stop stumbling, to be in full control of ourselves at all times. We’re not there yet, especially when it comes to our words. The sign of a Christian who has arrived at full-faith perfection is one who never stumbles in what they say or how they say it. Such a perfected believer will never say anything unkind, hurtful, selfish, proud, rude, or manipulative. They will only and ever say words motivated by faith in God and love for each other.

Once we learn to perfectly control our words, we will be in perfect control of every part of ourselves. We will have “bridled”—or learned to keep in check—our entire body. This is a noble goal to aspire to, much like an athlete who aspires to never miss a shot on goal. And yet, as both James and the rest of the New Testament make plain, we will never attain that kind of perfection on this side of heaven (1 John 1:10; Romans 7:21–25).

Verse 3. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

James now begins to illustrate the idea he introduced in verse 2. The tongue is the most difficult aspect of our lives to truly control. James goes so far as to say anyone who could perfectly control his words would be perfect and in full control of every part of himself. This ability to control the tongue is described in verse 2 as the means to “bridle” our bodies.

Here in verse 3, James points to horses as a natural example. Horses are large, powerful animals. And yet, they can be controlled with a small piece of metal and a few leather straps. This is called a bit: a bar which is placed behind the horse’s teeth, resting against the soft tissues in the back of the mouth. This gives the rider the ability to create pressure on the animal, and even pain, if used roughly. With a bit in a horse’s mouth, a rider is able to control the whole animal, to make it obey, to steer it wherever the rider wants to go.

James’s point in referring to a horse’s bit is that a large, powerful animal can be overcome and controlled by something very small. The power of the bit is not in its size, but in its effectiveness. James will quickly reveal that we don’t have the same control over our own words that we do over horses. And, in the next verses, he will continue to show that the power of the tongue is not related to its size.

Verse 4. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

James continues to illustrate the point about how difficult our words are to control. In verse 2, he wrote that if a person could perfectly control his words, he would be perfect. He would be able to “bridle” or flawlessly control his entire body. But, while this is a noble goal, humans are fallible and sinful. All of us—including James himself—continue to stumble in many ways (James 3:2).

James is making the point that just because the tongue is small does not mean it is weak. In fact, he brings three analogies to show how something small can be powerful. Another layer of James’s teaching is that learning to control certain aspects of our lives will, by necessity, lead to control over all others. His first example, from verse 3, was how horses can be controlled a tiny bit in their mouths.

Here in verse 4, James points to huge ships at sea. The power behind those ships in James’s era was the mighty wind, but nobody can control the wind. Wooden sailing ships full of cargo could weigh thousands of pounds. And yet, a pilot could alter the movement of the most massive boat using just a relatively small piece of wood: the rudder. A rudder is the paddle-like plank used to steer a ship.

James will write in the next verse that if we learn to control our tongues—meaning the words we say—we could control what we do with our entire bodies. The one who controls a bit controls the entire horse. The one who controls the rudder steers the entire ship. The man who learns to control his tongue is one who has gained control over his entire self.

This, of course, is neither easy (James 3:8), nor something we can expect to do with perfection (James 3:2).

Verse 5. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

James continues to draw comparisons between the tongue—the words we say—and other relatively small things which possess great power. First, he pointed to the tiny bits in the mouths of horses which control those mighty animals. Then he talked about the relatively small rudder on a ship, which can turn a great vessel wherever the pilot wants to go.

The tongue is similar, James writes. It is a very small organ in the body that boasts of great things. In this particular case, James isn’t referring specifically to the way we can use our words to brag. Instead, he means that our tiny tongues have the capacity to effect massive results. The one who controls the bit controls the whole horse. The one who masters the rudder steers the whole ship. A man who learns to control his tongue will have gained self-control over his entire body.

The fact that the tongue is powerful doesn’t mean everything it does is positive. To drive home this point, James uses a dramatic example. A tiny spark can set a whole forest ablaze. In this analogy, the spark is not something used to bring control. Instead, it’s a small thing which impacts others around it. This leads to great chaos and destruction. Like the tongue, the spark can boast of great things. And yet, in the case of the spark in a forest, the “great things” are often overwhelmingly negative.

Verse 6. And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

James has been describing the amazing power of our words—our tongues. Like bits which control horses, or rudders which control ships, or sparks which start a forest-leveling fire, our tiny tongues—through the words we say with them—can do huge things, many of them greatly destructive.

Here, James stops comparing our tongues to others things and describes them as they are. The picture isn’t pretty. He describes the tongue itself as a fire, meaning it can burn whatever we touch with our words. This is a good perspective to keep in mind before we use our words on or against another person.

James also describes the tongue as “a world of unrighteousness.” In our natural, sinful state, our words don’t just occasionally go bad. They come from a place that is completely bad in every way. The tongue isn’t merely the one bad apple in the barrel. It is the member which corrupts all of the other parts of our bodies. An uncontrolled tongue is responsible for setting the course of our lives on fire, for burning down everything along the way.

But our tongues don’t burn with their own fire. That fire of reckless destruction didn’t originate with us. Our tongues, James writes, are themselves set on fire by hell. The word “hell” here is derived from the Greek name of the Valley of Hinnom. This was a well-known known place just outside of Jerusalem. Hinnom Valley had been used in the past for human sacrifice. At the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, it was a perpetually-blazing trash heap. Because it was associated with garbage, rejection, evil, destruction, and fire, this Valley of Hinnom was often held up as a picture of God’s eternal judgment on sin: hell.

So what does all of this mean? Our tongues—the words we say with them in our lack of self-control—are powerfully evil and destructive. It’s not a small problem. It’s rooted in the fundamental spiritual problems all people have: pride and lack of self-control. In prior chapters, James pointed out how one’s actions prove the reality of his beliefs. Here, James makes it clear that the way we use our tongues reveals our true nature. As fallen people, our nature is sinful and destructive. We must be changed.

Verse 7. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,

James continues laying out his case that the tongue—our words and how we use them—is uncontrollable and a source of great evil.

Here, James points out the difficulty in taming the tongue using what today we would call the “man on the moon” argument. This is where we respond to some human limitation by looking back to the incredible 1969 moon landing. Then, questions are posed such as: “Why is it that we can put a man on the moon, but we can’t cure the common cold?” Or, “Why is it that we can put a man on the moon, but we can’t get the trains to run on time?”

James isn’t referring to a moon landing, of course, but he is using the same logical form. Here he points to examples of amazing human achievement, specifically when it comes to control. Even at the time James wrote, human beings had learned to tame (figuratively) every kind of animal and bird, reptile, and sea creature. This verse echoes God’s command in Genesis 1:28: “…have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

It truly is remarkable to watch well-trained animals obey, perform, and serve their human trainers. We can tame all of these creatures, James asserts, but we can’t tame the tongue. Why? For the same reason we can’t cure the common cold or make trains run on time: those things are actually much harder than even landing on the moon, for their own reasons.

Verse 8. but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

In the previous verse, James pointed to an amazing human achievement: We can and have tamed every kind of creature. Now he finishes that thought: But we can’t tame the tongue. More specifically, James writes that no human being can tame his or her own tongue. We can’t control the words that come out of our mouths. It’s not an ability that human beings possess in our own power. Our tongues are more powerful than we are. They control us just as a bit guides a horse or a rudder steers a massive ship.

According to James, the tongue—our words and how we use them—is not just untamable. It is a restless evil. The Greek word James uses for “restless” is derived from the word akastatatos. This word also means “unstable,” and is the same root word used for the “unstable” man in James 1:8. Our tongues, the instrument of our powerful words, flail around, striking without focus or clear intent. And when they strike, they are full of deadly poison.

In his description of our tongues, the way we use our words, James leaves little room for comforting ourselves. As he will say in the following verses, even when we use our words for good purposes, we might very well use them for harm in the next moment. Our tongues are uncontrollable, powerful, evil, and hurtful. Period.

His characterization is all the more disturbing because James is not suggesting that our actual tongues—the flaps of muscle in our mouths—are themselves possessed of evil. This is a point James will clarify in upcoming verses. Agreeing with Jesus, James would say that it is “out of the abundance of the heart [our] mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Just as our deeds reveal our faith, our words reveal our hearts. We can’t tame our tongues on our own, because we can’t change our sinful nature on our own.

Next, James will give examples of the evil ways we use our words.

Verse 9. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

In describing the uncontrolled, evil nature of our tongues—our words and how we use them—James now points to two contrary ways we use our tongues.

First, we can use our words to bless or praise our Lord and Father. After James’s description of evil, untamable, unstable tongues up to this point, it’s shocking to imagine such a person use their words to bless God. Perhaps we’ve been imagining that James has been describing non-religious people, or bad people. Or as we’d like to think, he’s describing “other” people—not us, and not Christians. But, no, James’s is describing the tongues of the human worshipers of the one true God. He is describing a weakness even in Christians. That makes his next example all the more convicting.

We also use our words to curse people. The word “curse” here is katarōmetha in the Greek, and this term is very specific. It does not refer to the use of coarse or “dirty” language, though that’s part of how we can misuse our tongues. In the classic sense, to “curse” another person is to condemn them. It is to wish them to be cut off from blessing. It can even mean a prayer to send them to hell. More generally, this type of “cursing” is a desire for evil to come into someone’s life. In the sense James means it here, we can curse someone with a variety of words, R-rated or not.

It is such a common human thing to “curse” another person that we tend to dismiss it as not that big of a deal. “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is a common English proverb. And yet, James explains why abusive speech is such a big deal: We are cursing a being made in the image of God!

This is the second time in this chapter James has looked back to our creation by God, described in Genesis 1 (James 3:7). His arguments about how we use our words are rooted in the very foundations of creation itself. His main point is this: We use our words to bless our Creator and then to curse His creation. As he’ll explain in the next verses, that doesn’t make sense. It reveals the untamable, evil nature of our tongues.

Verse 10. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

James continues to make the case that our tongues—the words we use which reveal our fallen hearts—are evil and uncontrollable. In the previous verse, he wrote that we human beings use our tongues both to praise God, the Creator, and to curse other people who are created in God’s likeness. Now in this verse, he says what is becoming clear to us: this contrary use of words doesn’t make sense. More specifically, it shouldn’t be that way. Blessing and cursing shouldn’t originate from the same mouth.

We must take note that James is talking to “brothers.” He is speaking to fellow believers in Jesus Christ. This is not merely a problem for “other” people, or for unsaved people. People who trust God may still be learning to rely on His power to control the words they say and don’t say. In fact, Jesus told his disciples to give a blessing to those who curse them (Luke 6:28). Paul echoed that command (Romans 12:14).

It’s clear, though, that we will not achieve control over our words in our own power. We’re going to need God’s help.

Verse 11. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?

James continues making his case that human beings—including Christians—are not naturally in control of our tongues. If we were, how would it be possible for us to use our words both to praise God and to curse people created in His image? James stated what seems obvious to us now: It shouldn’t be that way.

It’s not just that we “shouldn’t” use our words for both blessing and evil. It’s that it is contradictory. It’s a conflict with the nature we’re supposed to be relying on as saved, born-again believers. James illustrates this with the example of a spring. Nowhere in nature will you find bubbling up from the ground a mixture of salt and fresh water. It just doesn’t happen. Salt water and fresh water come from two completely different sources—just as words of blessing and words of cursing come from two completely different natures.

In the same way, a single mouth shouldn’t pour out both blessing and cursing. The fact that our mouths do exactly that is evidence that we’re broken.

Verse 12. Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Verse 13. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

What is wisdom? In a new section beginning in this verse, James will show that how each person answers that question depends on whether their focus is limited to this life or includes eternity in heaven. He starts out with a provocative question. This test immediately challenges our personal pride: “who is wise and understanding among you?”

James uses two different Greek words, with two different meanings. “Understanding” comes from the Greek epistēmōn, which focuses on intellect and factual knowledge. “Wisdom,” which James will center on more heavily in this passage, is from the Greek sophos. This term is more related to practical, real-life use of moral reasoning. This is not to say intellect is unimportant, but James’s primary point in this letter is about what we do. As a result, it’s natural that he leans more heavily on the applied “wisdom” aspect.

Those with some scriptural training or higher status in the faith community will be tempted to count themselves qualified as “wise.” Those who feel inadequate in spiritual things might hope they won’t be noticed. James’s answer to his own question, though, comes as a surprise. As human beings, we tend to measure wisdom as having all the right answers to the hard questions. Instead, James suggests, wisdom is as wisdom does. He echoes what he wrote about faith and good works in chapter 2: “I will show you my faith by my good works.”

A truly wise person will demonstrate the humility of wisdom by his good works. The true test of God’s kind of wisdom is a life well lived, a life spent doing good works for others. As the wisdom book of Proverbs repeatedly makes clear, humility is an essential component of living wisely (Proverbs 1:5–8). Without setting ourselves aside, we cannot hope to become the wise servants God has called us to be.

Context Summary
James 3:13–18 questions our concept of who is wise and understanding. James quickly answers: the truly wise, understanding person is one whose faith in God leads to selfless good works. Wise people live in the humility of wisdom, setting themselves aside to serve others. That’s not worldly wisdom, which leaves each person responsible to serve him- or herself first. Earthly attitudes are driven by envy for what others have, and an ambition to take it. The result is disorder and evil instead of the peace, gentleness, and mercy that follow from living by heaven’s wisdom.

Verse 14. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.

In the previous verse, James asked his readers who they thought qualified as wise and understanding. His immediate answer was that wise people live wisely, participating in good deeds with great humility. Now he warns his readers not to lie to themselves. A person should not assume they are “wise” if they carry bitter envy and selfish ambition in their hearts. And certainly, they must not boast about it.

This raises a fair question: why would anyone boast about being consumed with envy and selfish ambition? Think about the kind of career and motivational advice we hear every day. The typical “life coach” will tell you to look around, decide what you want out of life, and make a plan to go get it. The idea is that the successful person is the one who knows what they want, and gets it in the end. That’s a common enough approach that it just seems natural to most of us.

The problem, of course, is that such an approach to life is usually built on envy: “I want what they have.” It implies that there is benefit to selfish ambition: “I will do whatever it takes to get that for myself.” In the next verse, James will describe the characteristics of that kind of so-called-wisdom.

Most of the New Testament writers warn against this worldly approach to life. Thinking in such a short-sighted way contrasts with the life God calls His people to follow. The apostle John defined this worldly wisdom as “the desires [or ‘lusts’] of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” (1 John 2:16).

Verse 15. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

In the previous verse, James warned those of us consumed with envy and selfish ambition not to think of ourselves as wise. The world usually defines success as getting whatever it is you want out of life. To do that, you have to look around and decide what you want, mostly by comparing yourself to other people. This can lead to bitter envy. Then, according to the world, you should plan to do whatever it takes to secure those desires for yourself. That requires some amount of selfish ambition.

Phrased that way, it sounds pretty bad. The point is not that all people who try to improve themselves, or to be successful, are doing something wickedly evil. The problem is in the world’s definitions of wisdom and success. The skewed, un-biblical attitudes towards these are normal to our ears. As a result, we usually admire those who have followed that path to great wealth, great pleasure, or great status.

James wants to wake us up. That worldly approach to life is not true wisdom, he writes. It’s not God’s wisdom, It’s not heaven’s wisdom. In fact, what seems normal to us only because it “is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.” In other words, this “wisdom” can’t help us beyond the limits of our short, physical lives. And its origin is the Devil.

This counterfeit wisdom promises to give us all the desires of our hearts. In the next verse, James will describe the actual result.

Verse 16. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

The world’s definition of success is getting whatever you want out of life. According to this attitude, each person should look around and decide what will make themselves happy—pleasure, money, power—and then make a plan to go get it. Whatever it takes, in order to get that result, is worth it, according to the wisdom of the world. The problem is that this wisdom runs on the engine of human envy and self-serving ambition. In the previous verses, James made clear that such so-called-wisdom isn’t God’s wisdom.

Worldliness, this false wisdom, promises to give us the desires of our hearts. Instead, it fills our hearts with envy. We’re never really satisfied, because we learn to constantly covet what others have that we don’t. And it fills our hearts with selfish ambition to do whatever is required to get what we want. James points out that the result of everyone focusing on themselves, and working for themselves, is disorder. Billions of personal agendas compete with each other, creating a form of chaos that seems both normal and exhausting to all of us.

The second result of worldly wisdom is every evil or vile practice. Why? Our self ambition will eventually require us to hurt someone else to get what we want. It encourages us to make excuses for our selfishness. It makes us hard and resistant to correction. Our standards for what is acceptable will eventually need to be compromised to keep us moving onward and upward, working under the world’s system.

When everyone lives according to this worldly wisdom, pain and destruction become the norm. Self-sacrifice for the good of others becomes the rare exception. Consider the classic summary of evolution by natural selection: “nature, red in tooth and claw.” If personal achievement is the most important goal, all sorts of immorality is implicitly on the table.

As James will spell out in the following two verses, those who follow the self-sacrificing wisdom of heaven experience a very different reality.

Verse 17. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

In this passage, James has been describing the so-called-wisdom of the world. It’s not pretty. Typical human philosophy is driven by envy and selfish ambition, and the result is all the disorder and evil we see in the world. Putting ourselves ahead of all others means creating billions of contradictory goals, and making excuses for hurting other people in order to get what we want.

Here, in verse 17, James describes the characteristics of the wisdom from heaven. This is God’s wisdom. This is the wisdom of those who trust God to provide all they need, to continue to give them every good gift (James 1:17), and to fulfill every desire of their hearts for eternity with Him in heaven. As a result, these believers willingly sacrifice opportunities for “more and more” money, pleasure, and power. Instead, those who trust in God make themselves available to serve the needs of others.

The result of submission to God is very different than selfish, worldly ambition. James describes godly wisdom as “pure,” translated from the Greek word hagnē. This means “undivided, chaste, or pure.” This kind of wisdom is refined and focused on exactly one thing: whatever God has called us to.

Godly wisdom is peaceable or peace-loving, putting a high value on easing conflict. His wisdom is gentle or considerate, not ready to fight, but ready to serve. This wisdom is reasonable or submissive, ready to see things from another point of view and do it someone else’s way. True wisdom is full of mercy and all the good things that flow from living this way. This wisdom is impartial, not showing the favoritism James addressed in chapter two. This wisdom is sincere, with no need to fake anything to get what it wants out of other people.

It’s amazing how much easier and more pleasant life becomes when a Christian gives up the requirement of getting what he or she wants at all costs. Without that agenda, there’s less and less need for conflict. And yet, the only way to give up that agenda is to believe that our good God is providing all we need in every moment.

Verse 18. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

In this passage, James has been describing the difference between worldly wisdom and godly wisdom. Worldly wisdom encourages us to be selfish and greedy, and to put our own interests before the needs of others. Godly wisdom, on the other hand, leads to peace, mercy, and sincerity.

James concludes his thought from the previous verse with a beautiful word picture. Imagine fields full and ready to harvest. The crop of this field is righteousness, goodness, and everything those who belong to God would hope to see in the world.

How did it get there? The crop was planted by those who make peace. James elevates the role of peacemakers: ones committed to living peacefully in full confidence that God is providing for them. These are believers who know God is meeting every need, giving many good gifts. Such people don’t feel the need to fight against others for what they need. Their peace-loving lifestyles lead to fields of righteous choices.

That’s the result of living by heaven’s wisdom.

End of Chapter 3.

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