Don't be Zealous. Be a Farmer ~ James 3:13-18 ( a series on James)

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. ~ James 3:13-18
Let’s start with James’ question. Take a moment. “Who is wise and understanding among you?” Who do you think of (and no, Yoda or Gandolf don’t count)? What qualities do they possess? What qualities do they not possess? Wisdom is always a flesh and blood question. It’s incarnational, enfleshed, and embodied. It’s not meant to be abstract. And now my question, “Would anyone think of you?” And if you don’t know, aren’t sure, a bit stumped, I have good news and bad news for you.

1.    You can(’t) be wise, vss. 13-18

The good news is that you can be wise, that wisdom is available for you. It’s not in short supply, locked in a secret safe, or hidden in the depths of the sea surrounded by mutant sharks with lasers on their heads (Okay, that’s a bit dramatic but you get the point). James began his letter to us assuring of this truth and we do well to remember it. But, I also have bad news. Or, at least news that cuts against the grain of our expectations. You can’t be wise! Wisdom is not something that simply bubbles up from the inside or grows big from exercise and protein shakes. You can’t climb the ladder of success to attain wisdom. If so, you might very well pass it by because, James tells us, wisdom is something that comes outside of yourself, something that “comes from above” and is not simply what you attain. This is a paradox. On the one hand, James wants to assure us that wise ones exist in our midst and that we ourselves can become wise. That we can recognize those who are wise. That’s the point of James’ question – to describe such persons. These people exists and

you can be one of them. But they don’t grow themselves, they’re not simply the lucky, the strongest, the most disciplined. No, godly wisdom, James tells us, “comes down from heaven” as a gift.
If wisdom comes from heaven by grace, then why must we discipline ourselves at all? Why go to church? Why get up early or stay up late to meditate, pray, or read? Why listen to a sermon? Because let me tell you, I did not come from heaven. The writer Anthony DeMello shares a story between

an older monk and a younger one, a novice, that aims to capture the paradoxical truth about wisdom. The younger monk asks,

“Is there anything I can do to achieve wisdom?”

“As little as you can do to make the sun rise,” the older monk responds.

“Then why all these burdensome disciplines you prescribe?"

“Ah! So that you will be awake when the sun rises.” 

So we guard our tongue, practice good listening, speak slowly, but we do so not because those automatically make us wise but because they prepare our hearts to receive humility through prayer. They prepare us to be able to acknowledge and receive that which we do not have and cannot make.
God is a giver, James has already told us, in 1:17. And a giver of wisdom. And the spiritual life is not a contest against others nor a competition for limited resources but a gift. And a gift is something that you receive which was not yours to begin with. And if you get that, you are on your way to becoming wise.
Do you want to be wise? Two encouragements:

a.     Learn to laugh at yourself. Learn to laugh at all the silly ways you try and make life about yourself. Laughter is a wonderful way to name the silliness of our sin and self-centeredness. Thomas Moore once prayed, “Give me

a soul that knows not boredom, grumblings, sighs and laments, nor excess of stress, because of that silly little thing called “I.” Grant me, O Lord, a good sense of humor. Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke to discover in life a bit of joy, and to be able to share it with others.”

b.    Learn to let go of a heroic spirituality of sacrifice and embrace surrender. It’s not that sacrifice is bad. In fact, it is sometimes necessary and critical but it can, in turn, inflate one’s ego and make our lives about ourselves. Go back to our text – vs. 17 names one of the qualities of wisdom as being “submissive.” It is only when we embrace powerlessness that we are able to be transformed. The first step of the twelve steps of AA begins with a gospel truth: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.” It is only when we submit to the anesthetic of powerlessness that the surgery can begin. You can’t do surgery on yourself. You cannot be at the center of your own concerns and be humble. Humility must come to you, James says. It’s done to you.

2.    Don’t be zealous, vss. 14-16

In vss. 14 and 16, James describes phantom wisdom with an interesting word: zḗlos. It’s a Greek onomatopoeia that mimics the sound of water bubbling over from heat and

derives from zéō, “to boil.” It is metaphorically used of “boiling anger, love, zeal, for what is good or bad.” It’s the word zeal or zealous. In Jesus’ day it was a prized form of religious piety that was willing to resort to violence and bloodshed for the sake of purity and truth. In most of the New Testament, however, it’s a negative word. 69% of its usage refers to behavior that is unbecoming for Christian and non-Christian alike. That’s because boiling emotions, even ones for the sake of truth, can burn people.

And while I don’t know many who actually take up violence, I know plenty of people who are willing to strap a Bible to their chest and blow themselves up and others to pieces for the sake of the truth. Most of us would rather be a martyr than be powerless.
James will go on to describe this zelos wisdom as “boastful or false to the truth.” James’ point is NOT that these so-called teachers are denying the truth but rather that their behavior: zealousness, pride, fanaticism, serve to deny the truth itself. They may teach the truth correctly, he admits, but that still doesn’t make them right.
The wise ones are those who understand that being right is over rated. James binds true wisdom to peaceable behavior and a willingness to yield. Belligerence and contentiousness reveal a worldly determination to win, rather than a faithful determination to build up harmony, gentleness, and mercy. There is a demonic wisdom that says, “I can say anything I want in service of the truth. That might makes right and that there is no shame in speaking shamelessly when I am correct.” It says “the end justifies the means.”
This may be an odd truth coming from a pastor who encourages people to be passionate about the Bible, to love God and others fiercely, but I’ve seen too many activist Christians who preach truth and can’t live the answer; that is, their knowledge is largely correct, but their energy, style, and soul are not. So if they bring about their so-called revolution that they are working for, I don’t want to be part of it. They might have the answer, but they are not themselves the answer. In fact, they are part of the problem. Overly zealous reforms tend to corrupt the reformers because they remain incapable of seeing themselves as in need, as unreformed. We need less reformation and more transformation.

3.    The wise are farmers and peace is the crop, vss. 17-18

Farmers understand that you get what you plant – if you plant apples you don’t get peaches. If you sow mean-spirited truth, you reap it. The wise, James tells us, practice humility or gentleness in the face of criticism. Wise teachers don’t bite back, and know full well the temptation to respond with harshness. Wisdom, then, for James has to do with both a grasp of God’s will and a life that conforms to that will (sowing and reaping). A wise teacher is the one who knows how to create peace in the community because she is at peace with herself.
Yet patience and gentleness are not obvious to the most prominent streams of our contemporary culture. Truth is no longer considered a beautiful gift that beckons us but has become a bone that we must fight over, or a chant that we shout against our enemies. And the more zealous venom we use, the more we believe it somehow shows that we are right. Behavior that many Christians take as self-evidently necessary, James condemns as antithetical to heavenly wisdom because it creates disorder and division.
Do you want to bring a “harvest of righteousness” to Salem?

Plant peace. Till with purity of heart. Sow consideration.  Spread submissiveness. Fling mercy. Scatter non-judgmentalism. Strew sincerity. We cannot plant pride and bitterness and gain peace and righteousness. We cannot plant hatred and eat truth. And we cannot plant on Monday and have a harvest by Tuesday. A harvest is coming. But we must be patient. Make no mistake, my grandparents were farmers and farmers work every day. But as hard as they work – they don’t make the plant grow.
The wise know - You will only bear the fruit that you plant. And friends, for too long we have relied upon the pesticides

of hatred, fear, intimidation, power, pride and self-righteousness. Psalm 37:7-8, that we heard read, reminds us: “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him, do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret – it leads only to evil.
I witnessed the wisdom of a farmer this week. Josie LePage posted on Facebook a comment about Pastor Helen’s sermon and received a response from a non-believer that mocked Christianity. Josie responded with love, gentleness, and submissiveness. Josie asked a question and offered a prayer:  “But, if we have hate in our hearts how can we expect to receive love? I hope that your journey in life brings you peace.” That’s wisdom.