Are We There Yet ? James 3:13-18

Are we there Yet? Growing in Righteousness (James 3:13-18)

“Have you ever been on a road trip with kids in the backseat? You’ve barely left the driveway when you hear it: ‘Are we there yet?’ Over and over. Life is a lot like that road trip. The car is your life. The road is your journey. your moving along, things are changing you don’t move quite like you used to, sometimes repairs have to be made. some roads in life are smooth some parts are bumpy. occasionally you may bump into other cars and you both have to get repairs. sometimes your not paying attention and you run into a ditch. but we are all on a road to somewhere. The Question is. if your like a car then who is driving you. where are your instructions and subtle movements in life coming from. Our scripture James gives us two options either we can be driven by worldly wisdom or godly wisdom and he outlines the differences as well as the results of each

(13) If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. (14) But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. (15) For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. (16) For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. (17) But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. (18) And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
James 3:13-18 – NLT

1. Wisdom is not merely attaining knowledge but knowing how to apply it to your life. James had no doubt heard about some of the Bible teachers who where displaying much knowledge but their lives did not reflect the Biblical values they taught. They were angry, envious of one another, rivals. They weren’t necessarily false teachers. But they weren’t representing Jesus in the way they acted. that’s why he said don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. don’t put on some big emotional show in the pulpit to give the impression that your some spiritual giant when you can’t treat the people around you with love and decency. while the church is filled with great men and women who have a heart for God. it is also filled with those who though they may be gifted an ambitious and able to draw crowds their character is not that of a man or woman of God.
2. Humility is the is the guardrail that prevents us from slipping over the edge into the abyss of sinful. pride. many people have been taken down by their own selfish ambition.  getting a little bit of success in something can make you feel confident but its easy to take the credit for yourself instead of giving glory to God. when you are successful at something even though you have put in a lot of effort you still need to acknowledge that if it wasn’t for God you wouldn’t have what you have. That kind of puffed up pride and ambition comes from a worldly wisdom. It only serves to isolate you. it sucks the joy out of life by replacing meaningful relationships with money, accomplishments and power but never leads to contentment.
3. How then do you recognize the difference between worldly and Godly wisdom?
   1. Worldly wisdom is earthly, unspiritual and demonic-
   2. Earthly– that is it just comes from peoples opinions and experiences and the conclusions they draw about life. there is no standard for making decisions. its all over the place. there is no consistency.  I have found that many people hold self contradicting  opinions about many things because they have no standard, no matrix by which to evaluate the information they take in.
      1. Its funny how people are so quick to bash the Bible and mock Christians for following an ancient book. But I would ask what is the alternative. do you have something better? what is the source you go to for your decision making? Instagram, Tik Tok, your uncle after having a few on a Friday night? it might be good advice or bad advice, its the las Vegas of wisdom. its a gamble.
   3. unspiritual–The original GK is ψυχικός psuchikŏs, natural, sensual. it comes from our natural desires. or another way to say it. is Our feelings. Has anyone ever made a great life altering decision based on their feelings? Not often. Feelings change and so they are not a good source to gain wisdom.
   4. Demonic–this speaks to the source. The world systems of thinking- ideologies, false religions and philosophies, the occult are under the control of the evil one. even if someone says they aren’t religious or they don’t subscribe to any belief system they do. they just aren’t aware of it.
   5. Results in disorder and evil. without God involved in our decisions it inevitably ends up in chaos. Just look at our technology. we have come so far in what we are able to do with smart phones and drone technology. but now their new ways for people to hack and steal your stuff. We invented scoial media to bring people together and sing we are the world but instead. its stirred up more ignorance and division than ever. and now we have AI. Which by the way we have done such a good job at that some are saying eventually its going to replace at least 13%
   6. So how do we counter the self destructive tendencies of worldly wisdom. What can bring out the best in us?
   7. Godly Wisdom
      1. Pure– there is no personal motive except desiring to God
      2. Peace loving and gentle- Jesus said Blessed are the Peace makers. that doesn’t mean we avoid truth telling but we do it considering the other person. it is the opposite of what we see in the streets this idea that violence will solve the problems of society. that comes from a sense of desperation and worldly wisdom.
      3. Willing to yield to others– This doesn’t mean lay down and let people walk over you. when you see a yield sign in traffic it just means be aware of the situation and go when  you can. In relationships it means listening first and having discernment of what and when to speak.
      4. Full of mercy and good deeds- the attitude of one who Goes to God for wisdom is one of mercy. they treat others with kindness and concern. they genuinely love others.
      5. is sincere– most of all Godly wisdom produces authentic believers. we don’t have to fake it.

conclusion: Church we are living in challenging times were people have no idea who i driving their life. its like one of those self driving cars picking you up and taking you to a destination that you don’t know. But we have the Spirit of God at the wheel, we have his word as a map to guide us. and if we yield to his instructions we will be able to navigate through this life no matter what the world looks like.