What Are You Sowing?

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder
and every vile practice. 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 3:16-18

I love the book of James because James is a no-nonsense kind of guy. He tends to tell us like it is, and I often need that straightforward truth that doesn’t pull punches. But often with truth like this, we tend to think someone else really needs this truth. That may be so; however, we need to consider that this truth is first meant for us.

In chapter 3, James cuts to the core of all of man’s problems. He defines them as jealousy and selfish ambition. We would not readily admit that we are selfish and jealous, but the truth is, when we examine our lives daily, we really are. We often harbor harsh, resentful attitudes toward others who don’t adhere to our agendas and ways of doing things. James says this only leads to disorder and every vile practice.
 
James then offers a change of perspective. He says wisdom from above is just the opposite. What James is saying is that when Jesus conquers our hearts, our outlook on our lives and relationships changes. We no longer seek to be the most important person in the room. That self-centered wisdom that is consumed with personal ambition is not from God. Instead, we seek purity, meaning moral integrity. We seek to be peaceable, meaning we promote peace.

We strive to be gentle; we are willing to go to great lengths of difficulty to promote peace without an attitude of revenge. We are open to reason. This means we are teachable and willing to admit we may be wrong. We are full of mercy. This means we are willing to forgive and show concern for others. He then says we are to be impartial and sincere. This means we are committed to one another in genuine relationships, desiring the best for one another.

If I could sum all of this up in one encouragement, I would say that if we desire to have God-honoring,  fruitful, growing relationships, we need to have the mindset that we are not the most important person in the relationship. Oh, how sweet and wonderful our marriages and friendships would be if we were to strive for such. James calls this sowing seeds of peace that produce a harvest of righteousness.