Bitter Jealousy, Selfish Ambition, and the Meekness of Wisdom [James Study Week 8, James 3:13-18]
“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
James 3:13-18
“True wisdom comes from a faith rooted in God and shows itself through our conduct and our humility.”
Meekness isn’t exactly a highly valued trait in our society. Independence. Strength. Courage. Fortitude. We tend, at least in the United States, to admire those qualities. But meekness? And the meekness of wisdom? Not so much.
But James tells us that true wisdom isn’t about just knowing things. It’s not about shouting more loudly than the person next to us. True wisdom comes from a faith rooted in God and shows itself through our conduct and our humility.
Letting Go of Bitter Jealousy and Selfish Ambition
James is addressing relational conflict within the Church. He’s talking primarily to believers, and reminding them that bitter jealousy and selfish ambition don’t come from God. If we’re claiming to have true faith, if we’re claiming to be children of God, why do our lives show jealousy and selfishness? It doesn’t make sense.
Those things come from the evil one. And the evil one is dead set on dividing the Church. He’s determined to pit us against each other in our families, marriages, friendships, and other relationships. Our inclination to think only of ourselves and pursue our interests above the interests of others fits right into his plan. This is demonic, James tells us.
That’s some strong language. I don’t necessarily jump to call my jealousy and selfish ambition demonic, but it is. Alternatively, we’ve seen in James’ letter so far that true faith bears fruit. Our works are a natural result of faith—and so if our works demonstrate jealousy and selfishness, they’re not showing a faith in God. They’re not showing that we order our life around the commandments to love God and love our neighbor. Instead, our jealousy and selfish ambition show that I will put myself above everyone else, no matter who I trample over in the process.
That’s no formula for unity, especially within the community of faith.
This may sound like a silly example, but it’s one that comes to mind for me when I think about this passage. I’ve been working for several years toward writing a book. There’s a lot that goes into it beyond just the writing part—developing a strong concept, growing your platform, completing a book proposal, etc. In 2018, I submitted my first proposal, one that got me to the point where I had good conversations with agents, but that book at that time wasn’t going to happen. In the process of writing my proposal and when my proposal got left in the proverbial stack, I started to sense my selfish ambition and bitter jealousy. Whenever someone else launched a book—especially one on a similar topic as mine—I was not just discouraged. I started to grow bitter.
I started to get jealous of others who had bigger social media followings, since my “platform” wasn’t enough to get signed by a traditional publisher. I didn’t want to read, much less celebrate, the works of others who wrote on similar topics as me. I wanted to crawl in my own little corner and pout like a toddler.
Did this promote unity? Nope. Did this do me any good? Nope. Did this show meekness, humility, wisdom, love for God, or love for neighbor? Not one bit.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with feeling disappointed and having a minute to be sad when something doesn’t pan out the way we’d hoped. But when left unchecked, that disappointment can all too easily turn into selfishness and bitterness.
As God used this book writing process to tear away the scales of selfishness in my life, I started to celebrate others more. I started to see that I don’t have to sit on the sidelines and complain about my own work not going anywhere. Instead, I get to share and celebrate and learn from others as they put their work into the world. And friends, that is way more fun! Maybe it seems small or insignificant, but it is also a way I can love my neighbor. My own selfish ambition did nothing good for anyone, but letting go of my own agenda and learning to lift up others brought much more unity and joy.
Demonstrating True Wisdom
Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” True wisdom begins with fearing the LORD. In other words, true wisdom begins with true faith, faith that’s rooted in who God is and trusts that what he says is true. True wisdom lives according to God's ways, not our own. It’s shown in a life that builds up the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of me.
In verse 16, James lists characteristics of true wisdom—pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, sincere.
These aren’t always the most highly valued traits in our culture. But how would our world—and specifically the Church—change if we actually practiced true wisdom? What if the Church was full of people who let go of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition and instead were the most peaceable, gentle, and merciful people in the world? What if the Church was seen as open to reason?
I think those outside the Church would take notice, and I think they’d want to be a part of it.
Being open to reason or peaceable or any of these other traits doesn’t mean we let sin slide or we give into the ways of the world in order to “keep the peace.” That’s no peace at all. N.T. Wright puts it this way:
But the challenge then for God’s people is to be able to tell the truth about the way the world is, and about the way wicked people are behaving, without turning into a perpetual grumble, and in particular without becoming someone whose appearance of “wisdom” consists in being able to find a cutting word to say about everyone and everything.[1]
“For those who live out true wisdom, for those who demonstrate their faith in the way they conduct themselves, there will be a harvest of righteousness.”
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). Paul wrote, “For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?” (1 Corinthians 3:3). He also wrote to Timothy, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:22-23).
All over Scripture, we’re called to live a life that loves God and loves others. We’re called to be wise, which is shown by our humble conduct. We don’t get wrapped up in things that don’t matter, and on things that do matter, we speak boldly but with love. We don’t act out of jealousy or selfish ambition but out of love for God and love for our neighbor.
Our efforts will not be for naught. Sometimes it feels like pursuing peace and taking the road of humility gets us nowhere. But James says otherwise. For those who live out true wisdom, for those who demonstrate their faith in the way they conduct themselves, there will be a harvest of righteousness.
We’re in this for the long haul, and while we may not see that harvest immediately, it will come. So let’s let go of our selfish ambition and bitter jealousy. Instead, let’s cling to that which is true and good and peaceful.
Let’s be people who demonstrate the meekness of wisdom.
Reflect
In what areas of your life are you harboring bitter jealousy or selfish ambition? Maybe you’ve been able to hide it outwardly, but inwardly there’s something brewing. What do you need to weed out?
Are there any areas of your life in which you’re more prone to selfishness or jealousy? (For example, my book writing journey has been fertile ground for selfish ambition to grow.) What do you need to do to love God and others in those areas?
What would it look like for you to show the meekness of wisdom this week? How can you practice humility, peace, being open to reason, etc.?
[1] Wright, N. T. The Early Christian Letters for Everyone. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p 24.
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