James 3:13-16 (NKJV) Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
The Bible teaches us to pursue peace, show forth good conduct, work through an issue at hand in meekness and humility. This is not what the flesh would want to do because the flesh wants to retaliate with vicious words, vulgarities and revengeful actions. It is never a pleasant sight before men and God when we use wrong earthly wisdom. You will be surprised that there will be friends who will advise you to do this because they will say that you are entitled to vent, be mean and retaliate for all the wrongs that you have suffered. It is always wise to just quieten down, listen deeply in our hearts and ask for God’s opinion whether He has the same advice that was given to you. The obvious answer will be “NO”. The answer might not be something that you would like to hear. In fact, it might be for you to extend grace to the person who least deserves it! It is to respond in meekness, grace and mercy. That is heavenly wisdom.
Sin is self-seeking. It is contentious and has no consideration for others. In fact, one will make decisions that will be for one’s own benefit at the expense of others which will result in strained or damaged relationships. It is sensual because it is done to please the eyes and the flesh. We will not be thinking of how others will feel when we are self-seeking since it is self-gratification. We will twist the truth to cater to our own selfish needs. We tend to draw ourselves towards those who agree with us even though we know that it is wrong. We will seek the counsel of those who dare not say “no” to us. We want the affirmation of those who agree with us even though we know that it is wrong because our conscience pricks us and the Holy Spirit convicts us. In such cases, Christians will not be seeking God’s wisdom or the counsel of the godly, but they will instead find alternative ways without the need to obey God.
The following is an example of using earthly wisdom. A manager took the entire team away from a company to start his own company. This kind of wisdom to scale up his life is earthly, sensual and demonic. It had to do with stealing and destroying including biting the hand that God had used to feed him. It should never be the act of a Christian.
Some Christians have sought demonic wisdom such as consulting mediums, reading horoscopes, geomancy etc. It happens because they are in distress, do not have a clear understanding of God, or are disappointed with God and acting out of rebellion. This is an abomination in God’s sight (see Leviticus 19:31). The devil is a deceiver and will disguise as an angel of light to help. We have to know that only God has genuine spiritual wisdom and the devil has a counterfeit version.
We will naturally use applied knowledge acquired through our academic studies or life experiences to give us wisdom in dealing with challenges at home, work or business. It is when we are at our wits’ end, then we will tend to turn to something supernatural for help. There are only two sources of wisdom, namely godly and demonic. Which will you choose?
Sermon Series: Earthly or Heavenly Wisdom
属世、感官和恶魔般的智慧
雅各书 3:13-16 你们中间谁是有智慧有见识的呢．他就当在智慧的温柔上、显出他的善行来。你们心里若怀着苦毒的嫉妒和分争，就不可自夸，也不可说谎话抵挡真道。这样的智慧，不是从上头来的，乃是属地的，属情欲的，属鬼魔的。在何处有嫉妒纷争，就在何处有扰乱，和各样的坏事。
圣经教导我们要追求和平，行出良善，以温柔谦卑的心解决手头的问题。这不是我们肉体想要的，因为肉体想要的是恶毒粗俗的的话语报复的行为。当我们使用错误的世俗想法时，在人和上帝面前所呈现出的场景绝不会是令人愉快的。你会惊讶于会有朋友建议你这么做，因为他们会说你有权对你所遭受的冤屈报以发泄、刻薄及反击。如果我们能静下心来，聆听我们的内心深处，并询问上帝的意见，看祂是否有给与你同样的建议，这总是明智的。显而易见答案将是“不”。这答案可能不是你期待听到的。事实上，你可能得到的建议是向最不值的人施恩！就是以温柔、恩典和怜悯来回应。那是属天的智慧。
罪是自私自利的。罪喜好争论并且无视他人的利益。实际上，人为了一己之私，会作出以牺牲他人为代价的决定，这会导致紧张或破损的关系。这是愉悦感官的，因为这样做是为了取悦眼睛和肉体。当我们追求自我时，我们不会考虑别人的感受，因为这是满足自我的。我们会歪曲事实以满足我们一己之私的需求。我们倾向于就近那些赞同我们的人，即使我们知道这是错误的。我们将征询那些不敢对我们说“不”的人的意见。我们希望得到那些赞同我们的人的肯定，即使我们知道这是错误的，因为我们的良心会刺痛我们，而圣灵会使我们知错。在这种情形下，基督徒就不会寻求神的智慧或敬虔人的建议，而是会寻找替代方法，从而无需顺服上帝。
以下是使用世俗智慧的例子。一位经理带领整个团队离开公司去创办了自己的公司。这种提升生活的智慧是世俗的、肉欲的和恶魔般的。这离不开偷窃与毁坏，包括撕咬上帝用来喂养他的手。这绝不应该是基督徒的行为。
有的基督徒寻求灵媒、占星、风水等属灵的智慧，是因为他们在一筹莫展之下，对神没有清楚的认识，或者出于对神的失望而表现出悖逆。这在上帝看来是可憎的（见利未记 19:31）。魔鬼是个骗子，会伪装成光明的天使来帮忙。我们必须知道，只有上帝有真正的属灵智慧，而魔鬼的智慧只是一个赝品。
我们会自然而然地使用通过生活经验或学术研究中获得的应用知识，为我们提供应对家庭、工作或业务挑战的智慧。当我们一筹莫展之时，我们会倾向于向超自然事物寻求帮助。智慧的来源只有两种，即属神的和属鬼的。你会选择哪一个？
讲章系列：属世或属天的智慧