James 3:13-18 - Meekness
James 3:13-18 - Meekness
I have to say, meekness is not a word I use very often, if at all. I am not even sure that I like the word, it kind of rubs me the wrong way, and I transfer meekness into weakness. I think this very issue I struggle with, with the word meekness and the concept in general, is an issue in our culture and society today. We have seen the word used less and less in the English language, now hovering above what looks like a near-zero percentage.
You know, I believe the problem here is we see meekness as weakness, and not truly what it is. I love how pastor Greg said it;
Meekness is not weakness, it is power under constraint. - Greg Laurie
Greg, in a sermon, gave an illustration about a thoroughbred racehorse that was well trained and developed for racing. These 1,000 pound, robust muscle animals contain so much power and force, and they could completely overpower any rider at anytime they want. But they don’t, they are trained and meek, the power is under constraint. We can see this same power under constraint when we look at the life of Jesus, and he even called himself meek and lowly.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” - Matthew 11:28-29 KJV
James, half brother of Jesus, understood this perfectly and shaped his ministry and his life. Closing out chapter three, James brings a lot of clarity to wisdom and contrast good wisdom to bad wisdom.
“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” - James 3:13 ESV
Here James drops so much knowledge on us; we can't just run past this. Who is wise and understanding among you? Other versions say understanding of God, the ways of God. This person, who is wise and understanding in the ways of God, will show his “WORKS”...saying those who are wise act wise and are not full of hot air. You see, wisdom is not about knowledge or information that sits inside our heads, wisdom is expressed by what we do and our daily conduct. James then describes what conduct looks like, it looks like meekness. And as we take this in, right here is where it helps me to fully understand when I insert “power under constraint.”
Then James shifts his focus from the wisdom from above to another type of wisdom, an earthly, unspiritual, and demonic 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.” - James 3:14-16 ESV
James hits a critical point here, the central point of self-awareness. Do you see it, James tells us not to be false to the truth. In other words, don’t deny it, don’t try and cover it up, admit it, and enter into a full state of sell-awareness. We must be self-aware of our selfish ambition, our jealousy, and our inner pride. These character issues and heart conditions will continually lead to disorder, trouble, sin, and destruction. Let us remember Jesus words:
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” - Matthew 5:5 NIV
We see two very different types of wisdom here, earthly wisdom that is unspiritual and demonic and wisdom from God that is gentle, merciful, and open to reason.
“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 3:17-18 ESV
Who is wise and understanding among you? A great question to ponder and let setting into our spirit today. I pray for wisdom from above, the ability to be self-aware of the areas in my life where I need more refinement, where I fall short. Lord, I call out for your wisdom, and I pray that my actions and life show the wisdom you have granted and afforded me. Continue to remind us Lord that meekness is not weakness!