Sue J Love
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- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
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James 3:13-18 BSB
“13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. 15Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
“17But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.”
Who is Wise?
Who is wise? Someone who is wise exercises divine wisdom, which is not just knowledge, for there are a whole lot of very intelligent people out in the world who are not wise at all by biblical standards. Wisdom has to do with having good sense, good judgment, and good discernment. It is taking the knowledge that we do have and putting it into practice in the right way, or else to discard it if the knowledge is something that is worthless. It is about making right, just, moral and godly choices as opposed to what is unwise.
And this will be shown to be true in our lives by the choices that we make, and by the words which we speak, and by our daily habits and practices, and by how we treat other people, too. And this does not mean that we will be absolutely perfect in this at all times, although some people might be. But lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for deliberately choosing to do what is unwise, which is antibiblical, and which is obviously against God and against his morals and values which he wants instilled in us.
So, if we are truly wise, by God’s standards, it will be shown in our good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. We will not be arrogant people tooting our own horns, demanding our own way, living to please the flesh, without regard for how we treat God and other humans. But we will be followers of Christ, who live to do his will. If we are teachers of the Scriptures, we will be careful to make certain that what we are teaching is biblical and not something created in the minds of humans.
But If You
What does it look like if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts? Let’s break down these words, shall we?
Bitter – unresolved anger, resentment, indignation, animosity resulting from a perceived wrong, insult, or unfair treatment. It is a strong feeling of deep-seated dislike, ill will, or active hatred toward someone you believe did you wrong. So, it is unforgiveness with perhaps a desire to want to get even.
Jealousy – this has to do with envying what others have that you do not have, wishing that you had it, and perhaps even that they would not have it. This can be driven by selfishness, pride, and discontent. Another word for it is covetousness. And this can lead to hate and bitterness and resentment.
Selfish – to be selfish is to be self-centered, thinking only of self and what you want regardless of the feelings of others, regardless of their needs, and regardless of how we are taught to be loving, caring, giving, and kind. It is egotistical, thoughtless, hateful, and cares nothing of the needs of others.
These should not be a part of our lives. We should be children of God who love each other like Jesus loves us, and gave himself up for us to free us from our slavery to sin so we will serve him with our lives. And we should be forgiving people who love others despite how they treat us in return.
P.S. There is a jealousy that is good and that is godly, too, so we should not confuse the two. Paul was jealous for the church with a godly jealousy because he was concerned they were being led astray to what is false. And a man or woman can be jealous for one’s spouse who may be going astray.
The Wisdom from Above
The wisdom from above is pure. It is unadulterated, untainted by the world and by human flesh. It is genuine and authentic, not fake. It is the pure word of God taught us in the Scriptures. But we must exercise wisdom here if we are presented with multiple translations of the Scriptures, for some of them are not good and not of God. None of them are absolutely perfect, for they are all translations. But I would stay away from “The Message (MSG)” and “The Passion Translation (TPT),” both translated by one person each.
The wisdom from above is also peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere (I used the Greek interlinear here). But we must be very careful here in how we interpret these words. For godly wisdom is not tolerant of sin, nor does it make peace with sin. Gentleness is gentle strength. It is the same as meekness, and Jesus was meek but he was not weak on sin. When he had to be strong, he definitely was, without question! And it is never kind to lie to people to make them feel good, either.
So, peaceable is not making peace with the world and compromising the truth of the Scriptures. Gentle is controlled strength, not compromise with the gospel of our salvation. Reasonable is what makes sense, but according to the Scriptures. Mercy is compassion and it is grace, but God’s grace teaches us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. And sincere has to do with telling the truth to people, the truth of God’s Word, even if the truth offends.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Give Me Jesus
Oh, What Gladness!
An Original Work / December 2, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Give me Jesus. He’s my Savior.
I’ll walk with Him in His favor.
I’ll abide in His love always;
Follow His ways to the end.
Jesus is the Son of God.
He died upon a cruel cross.
He’s forgiven all my failures
By His mercy and His love.
Give me Jesus – His compassion,
And His mercy; loving kindness.
Let Him teach me how to love Him,
And to please Him. He’s my friend.
Jesus died for all our sin
So we could have eternal life.
He will free you from your bondage
If you trust Him with your life.
Give me Jesus. Let me trust Him.
May I listen to His teachings.
May I follow where He leads me
In His service. He’s my Lord.
Jesus Christ will come again
To take His bride to be with Him.
Oh, what gladness; free from sadness
When I meet Him in the air.
Who is Wise and Understanding?
An Original Work / July 11, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. 15Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
“17But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.”
Who is Wise?
Who is wise? Someone who is wise exercises divine wisdom, which is not just knowledge, for there are a whole lot of very intelligent people out in the world who are not wise at all by biblical standards. Wisdom has to do with having good sense, good judgment, and good discernment. It is taking the knowledge that we do have and putting it into practice in the right way, or else to discard it if the knowledge is something that is worthless. It is about making right, just, moral and godly choices as opposed to what is unwise.
And this will be shown to be true in our lives by the choices that we make, and by the words which we speak, and by our daily habits and practices, and by how we treat other people, too. And this does not mean that we will be absolutely perfect in this at all times, although some people might be. But lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for deliberately choosing to do what is unwise, which is antibiblical, and which is obviously against God and against his morals and values which he wants instilled in us.
So, if we are truly wise, by God’s standards, it will be shown in our good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. We will not be arrogant people tooting our own horns, demanding our own way, living to please the flesh, without regard for how we treat God and other humans. But we will be followers of Christ, who live to do his will. If we are teachers of the Scriptures, we will be careful to make certain that what we are teaching is biblical and not something created in the minds of humans.
But If You
What does it look like if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts? Let’s break down these words, shall we?
Bitter – unresolved anger, resentment, indignation, animosity resulting from a perceived wrong, insult, or unfair treatment. It is a strong feeling of deep-seated dislike, ill will, or active hatred toward someone you believe did you wrong. So, it is unforgiveness with perhaps a desire to want to get even.
Jealousy – this has to do with envying what others have that you do not have, wishing that you had it, and perhaps even that they would not have it. This can be driven by selfishness, pride, and discontent. Another word for it is covetousness. And this can lead to hate and bitterness and resentment.
Selfish – to be selfish is to be self-centered, thinking only of self and what you want regardless of the feelings of others, regardless of their needs, and regardless of how we are taught to be loving, caring, giving, and kind. It is egotistical, thoughtless, hateful, and cares nothing of the needs of others.
These should not be a part of our lives. We should be children of God who love each other like Jesus loves us, and gave himself up for us to free us from our slavery to sin so we will serve him with our lives. And we should be forgiving people who love others despite how they treat us in return.
P.S. There is a jealousy that is good and that is godly, too, so we should not confuse the two. Paul was jealous for the church with a godly jealousy because he was concerned they were being led astray to what is false. And a man or woman can be jealous for one’s spouse who may be going astray.
The Wisdom from Above
The wisdom from above is pure. It is unadulterated, untainted by the world and by human flesh. It is genuine and authentic, not fake. It is the pure word of God taught us in the Scriptures. But we must exercise wisdom here if we are presented with multiple translations of the Scriptures, for some of them are not good and not of God. None of them are absolutely perfect, for they are all translations. But I would stay away from “The Message (MSG)” and “The Passion Translation (TPT),” both translated by one person each.
The wisdom from above is also peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere (I used the Greek interlinear here). But we must be very careful here in how we interpret these words. For godly wisdom is not tolerant of sin, nor does it make peace with sin. Gentleness is gentle strength. It is the same as meekness, and Jesus was meek but he was not weak on sin. When he had to be strong, he definitely was, without question! And it is never kind to lie to people to make them feel good, either.
So, peaceable is not making peace with the world and compromising the truth of the Scriptures. Gentle is controlled strength, not compromise with the gospel of our salvation. Reasonable is what makes sense, but according to the Scriptures. Mercy is compassion and it is grace, but God’s grace teaches us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. And sincere has to do with telling the truth to people, the truth of God’s Word, even if the truth offends.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Give Me Jesus
Oh, What Gladness!
An Original Work / December 2, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Give me Jesus. He’s my Savior.
I’ll walk with Him in His favor.
I’ll abide in His love always;
Follow His ways to the end.
Jesus is the Son of God.
He died upon a cruel cross.
He’s forgiven all my failures
By His mercy and His love.
Give me Jesus – His compassion,
And His mercy; loving kindness.
Let Him teach me how to love Him,
And to please Him. He’s my friend.
Jesus died for all our sin
So we could have eternal life.
He will free you from your bondage
If you trust Him with your life.
Give me Jesus. Let me trust Him.
May I listen to His teachings.
May I follow where He leads me
In His service. He’s my Lord.
Jesus Christ will come again
To take His bride to be with Him.
Oh, what gladness; free from sadness
When I meet Him in the air.
Who is Wise and Understanding?
An Original Work / July 11, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
