James 3:13-18 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“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.”

Double-Dealing

This title might not be an exact match for what I am about to share, but it is close enough. Back in the 1981/1982 time period, when I was in my early 30’s, not long after I had given birth to my fourth child (my third son), then the pastor of our church taught the congregation on the subject of spiritual gifts. He sent around a questionnaire for everyone to fill out, asking what gifts they have and what areas of ministry they would like to be involved in. So I filled mine out and I turned it in, but I didn’t ever hear anything back.

After a long while I finally became convinced that I needed to ask the pastor what his response was to what I wrote on the questionnaire. So he came to our house, at my request, and I asked him why I had not heard from anyone. And then he blurted out several false accusations against my character. And then he said, “Would you say that you have been crucified with Christ?” I said, “Yes!” Then he said, “I would say you haven’t!” Wow! My heart was broken! The man didn’t even know me. That was cruel!

I did not attempt to pursue that subject after that. But God didn’t let it go. He encouraged me to get back in there and to “fight this thing through” (i.e. to speak in my own defense). The pastor then told me that he was not the one with the issue, but it was the elders. So I scheduled a meeting with the elders, and they quoted this passage of Scripture from James 3:13-18 to me, and they told me I needed to read that. And they accused me falsely of having “selfish ambition,” which is why I was not being asked to serve.

But, to make a long story much shorter, what it turned out to be is that these elders said when they volunteered for ministry it was to be seen of others, and since I volunteered to serve the Lord in ministry, they presumed that must be my motivation, too. But it wasn’t! I loved (and still love) my Lord, and my desire was (and still is) for Him to serve Him in doing whatever He has gifted me and called me to do. So they (the pastor included) were judging me by their own selves when they didn’t know my heart at all.

Eventually the pastor admitted that they had judged me falsely by their own selves for they were threatened by me and my knowledge of the Scriptures and by the words I shared when I was called upon to share during Bible study time. The pastor said that I spoke with “too much authority” for someone my age and that I should wait until I had grey hairs on my head, and then the people would listen to me. But it was the authority of God, not my own wisdom, and when the grey hairs sprouted his prediction came true.

False Judging

Did that pastor and did those elders do right by me in what they falsely accused me of, not even knowing me? Obviously what they did was wrong. It was an injustice. But does that mean that all judging is wrong? No! But we are not to judge other people hypocritically, unjustly, by human standards, by our own traditions, by comparing others to ourselves, or in hate, with the wrong motives, prejudicially, by appearances, and/or without first giving the person a hearing or a chance to defend himself. But not all judging is wrong.

[Matthew 7:1-5; John 7:24,51; John 8:15-16; Romans 2:3; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 1 Corinthians 6:1-6; 2 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4; Galatians 6:1-5; Ephesians 5:11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; James 5:19-20; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 John 2:18-25; 1 John 4:1; Jude 1:22-23; Revelation 2:2]

Who Is Wise?

So why did I share all that with you? Because that pastor and those elders were unwise in how they treated me. They were not understanding at all. And their conduct toward me was not good. Their wisdom in how they treated me was not the wisdom of God, but it came from their own flesh, for they were judging me by their own selves, by their own standards, and not justly. They presumed that I must be like them, but I was not like them. And at the end of it all the pastor admitted that they were threatened by my wisdom. He admitted that he did not give much thought to what he taught.

So, while they were throwing this passage of Scripture in my face, trying to convince me that the wisdom I had was earthly and of the flesh, and not of God, they were acting in a manner which was earthly, for it was based off their own human wisdom and not the wisdom of God. It was based off their own feelings, and their own emotions, and not off the teachings of the Scriptures. So what they were accusing me of came back on them. And this serves as an example to all of us to be careful that we do not judge others by ourselves or without knowledge or prejudicially, and without love. But we are to judge justly, according to the Scriptures, and out of love for others.

The Wisdom From Above
An Original Work / September 28, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You

[A Prayer of Devotion to God Alone]