Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,661
“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:13-18 NASB1995)
There are many people in this world of ours who consider themselves to be wise because they are intelligent, well read, book smart people who know a lot of facts about a lot of subjects, and who are able to do complicated job assignments which require them to be very knowledgeable in certain areas, and because they can quote a lot of facts or statistics on multiple subjects, and/or because they have college or seminary degrees and thus they have diplomas. And some of them have titles of importance and of prestige.
But none of that in itself makes anyone wise. For wisdom has to do with good judgment and soundness of actions and decisions. It is the ability to apply the knowledge that we have in ways which are helpful and beneficial to ourselves and to others which will produce what is good and healthful, especially spiritually. A person who is wise evaluates a situation before just jumping in, and they consider carefully all the pros and cons before making a decision. A Christian should be one who prays to God to know what to do.
So there are a whole lot of very smart people in this world who are severely lacking in wisdom and in sound judgment, and this includes a whole lot of people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, too. And there were times in my own life when I was one of them, when I lacked good judgment and common sense and I was not seeking the counsel of God as I ought, but I was following the persuasion of humankind, instead. I’m not there now, but I won’t declare that I always make wise choices, but I believe I do, in practice.
So those who are wise are those who reveal their wisdom by their good (moral, honest, trustworthy) behavior. But if you are one who has bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, you are lacking in godly wisdom and good judgment, for you are following the wisdom of the flesh and of the devil and of the world, and you are not following the counsel and the wisdom of God. And you may be a Pharisee, too, who puts on a performance of all goodness outwardly while in reality you are deeply addicted to certain sins.
So, what causes someone to become bitter and jealous of others? Most of the religious rulers and/or people of influence in the temple of God in Jesus’ day were opposed to Jesus, and were bitter against him out of jealously of him due to his temporary popularity among the people and the fear that their own positions of power might be in jeopardy. They also did not like it that he claimed to be God (who he is) and that he confronted them in their sins, and that he exposed their hypocrisy and warned others about them.
Now people become bitter for many different reasons, but usually because they believe someone wronged them in some way, whether true or not. And so they may end up being bitter against all people of the same type, like all women or all men or all professing Christians or all people of any particular race or nationality or location, etc. And they may be bitter against all who are teaching death to sin and walks of obedience to God. And that is because they are also bitter against God who they believe did them wrong.
And bitterness will often lead to sinful rebellion against God, and against his commands, and the mistreatment of those who are speaking the truths of God and his word and/or all those who they believe did them wrong. And bitterness may be caused by selfish ambition because other people did not do things the way that they wanted them to do them, or other people did not give them all the praise and adoration they were hoping to receive, or if others said “No” to any evil that they may have tried to get them to do.
But the wisdom that comes from God is not going to result in selfish ambition and bitterness of heart and mind against God and against other humans. For godly wisdom will result in what is morally pure, upright, godly, honest, faithful, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, and without hypocrisy, etc. And gentleness and the making of peace is never to involve the refusal to speak the truth in love to the rebellious sinner or to compromise our faith and convictions in order to be liked and approved of.
For gentleness does not speak lies to people to make them feel good, and it does not compromise the truth of the gospel in order to not offend people. Gentleness is reserved strength so that we are not overly harsh. But the Scriptures speak much about how we need to speak the truth in love to people and we need to exhort one another daily so that none of us will be led astray by the deceitfulness of sin nor taken captive by the lies of the deceitful workmen who use manipulative tactics to get people to believe lies.
For if making peace with others involves spiritual compromises and backing down on telling them the truth in order to not offend them with the truth of the gospel, then it is not the fruit of righteousness, but it is the fruit of the flesh and of the world. For Jesus said that he did not come to the world to make peace but to bring a sword and to turn even family members against one another? How so? Because he spoke the truth that many did not want to hear, and those who believed him were then persecuted for their faith.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Matt 10:34-39; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
How Long Till the Morning
Scripture: I Thessalonians 4:17
By C. E. Couchman
Consider the mornings of this mortal land,
Each a new beginning from the Maker’s hand.
While the storms may gather ‘gainst the evening sky,
The day breaks cloudless in the morning.
Rise up to the battle, for the skies dawn clear.
Let us gather courage while the foe draws near.
Though the night falls weary, saints of God, march on!
And He’ll raise our banner in the morning.
When the trumpet sounds to signal Heaven’s day,
Resurrection Morning when the dead shall wake,
What a glorious gath’ring when the Lord descends
And we rise to meet him in the morning.
How long, my Lord? Till we see the morning?
How long, O, my Lord, till we see your face?
O my Lord, guide us through our troubles
Till we rise above them in the morning.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Jealousy and Selfish Ambition
An Original Work / May 19, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
There are many people in this world of ours who consider themselves to be wise because they are intelligent, well read, book smart people who know a lot of facts about a lot of subjects, and who are able to do complicated job assignments which require them to be very knowledgeable in certain areas, and because they can quote a lot of facts or statistics on multiple subjects, and/or because they have college or seminary degrees and thus they have diplomas. And some of them have titles of importance and of prestige.
But none of that in itself makes anyone wise. For wisdom has to do with good judgment and soundness of actions and decisions. It is the ability to apply the knowledge that we have in ways which are helpful and beneficial to ourselves and to others which will produce what is good and healthful, especially spiritually. A person who is wise evaluates a situation before just jumping in, and they consider carefully all the pros and cons before making a decision. A Christian should be one who prays to God to know what to do.
So there are a whole lot of very smart people in this world who are severely lacking in wisdom and in sound judgment, and this includes a whole lot of people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, too. And there were times in my own life when I was one of them, when I lacked good judgment and common sense and I was not seeking the counsel of God as I ought, but I was following the persuasion of humankind, instead. I’m not there now, but I won’t declare that I always make wise choices, but I believe I do, in practice.
So those who are wise are those who reveal their wisdom by their good (moral, honest, trustworthy) behavior. But if you are one who has bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, you are lacking in godly wisdom and good judgment, for you are following the wisdom of the flesh and of the devil and of the world, and you are not following the counsel and the wisdom of God. And you may be a Pharisee, too, who puts on a performance of all goodness outwardly while in reality you are deeply addicted to certain sins.
So, what causes someone to become bitter and jealous of others? Most of the religious rulers and/or people of influence in the temple of God in Jesus’ day were opposed to Jesus, and were bitter against him out of jealously of him due to his temporary popularity among the people and the fear that their own positions of power might be in jeopardy. They also did not like it that he claimed to be God (who he is) and that he confronted them in their sins, and that he exposed their hypocrisy and warned others about them.
Now people become bitter for many different reasons, but usually because they believe someone wronged them in some way, whether true or not. And so they may end up being bitter against all people of the same type, like all women or all men or all professing Christians or all people of any particular race or nationality or location, etc. And they may be bitter against all who are teaching death to sin and walks of obedience to God. And that is because they are also bitter against God who they believe did them wrong.
And bitterness will often lead to sinful rebellion against God, and against his commands, and the mistreatment of those who are speaking the truths of God and his word and/or all those who they believe did them wrong. And bitterness may be caused by selfish ambition because other people did not do things the way that they wanted them to do them, or other people did not give them all the praise and adoration they were hoping to receive, or if others said “No” to any evil that they may have tried to get them to do.
But the wisdom that comes from God is not going to result in selfish ambition and bitterness of heart and mind against God and against other humans. For godly wisdom will result in what is morally pure, upright, godly, honest, faithful, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, and without hypocrisy, etc. And gentleness and the making of peace is never to involve the refusal to speak the truth in love to the rebellious sinner or to compromise our faith and convictions in order to be liked and approved of.
For gentleness does not speak lies to people to make them feel good, and it does not compromise the truth of the gospel in order to not offend people. Gentleness is reserved strength so that we are not overly harsh. But the Scriptures speak much about how we need to speak the truth in love to people and we need to exhort one another daily so that none of us will be led astray by the deceitfulness of sin nor taken captive by the lies of the deceitful workmen who use manipulative tactics to get people to believe lies.
For if making peace with others involves spiritual compromises and backing down on telling them the truth in order to not offend them with the truth of the gospel, then it is not the fruit of righteousness, but it is the fruit of the flesh and of the world. For Jesus said that he did not come to the world to make peace but to bring a sword and to turn even family members against one another? How so? Because he spoke the truth that many did not want to hear, and those who believed him were then persecuted for their faith.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Matt 10:34-39; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
How Long Till the Morning
Scripture: I Thessalonians 4:17
By C. E. Couchman
Consider the mornings of this mortal land,
Each a new beginning from the Maker’s hand.
While the storms may gather ‘gainst the evening sky,
The day breaks cloudless in the morning.
Rise up to the battle, for the skies dawn clear.
Let us gather courage while the foe draws near.
Though the night falls weary, saints of God, march on!
And He’ll raise our banner in the morning.
When the trumpet sounds to signal Heaven’s day,
Resurrection Morning when the dead shall wake,
What a glorious gath’ring when the Lord descends
And we rise to meet him in the morning.
How long, my Lord? Till we see the morning?
How long, O, my Lord, till we see your face?
O my Lord, guide us through our troubles
Till we rise above them in the morning.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Jealousy and Selfish Ambition
An Original Work / May 19, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
