Worldy and Godly Wisdom

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:4

What is the proper relationship that a person of faith should have with the world? Must me take James' absolutist perspective that the world is totally bad and always oppossed to God?  Can anything good come from the world?  Throughout his letter, James offers stringent exhortation for the community of faith. They must reject the wisdom from below (worldly wisdom) and seek to follow the wisdom from above (Godly wisdom). Following the way of the world is dangerous because it fundamentally challenges the community of faith to stay connected to God and to one another.

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. James 4:1-2

Worldly wisdom promotes competition and envy among people. We crave what we do not have and we crave more of what we do have. These cravings drive our behavior to acquire more and cause us to see others as opponents or obstacles that stand in our way, rather than fellow human beings worthy of dignity and respect. Within the church, a worldly widsom driven by envy and competition is disastrous for the mutual spiritual building up that we are called to live out.

James rightly calls out this behavior and mindset and calls the faithful to abide by the wisdom from above. The wisdom from God never forgets that God is the source of all blessings; God is the one who blesses us and provides for our needs. Godly wisdom is humble. Godly wisdom does not crave and strive for more but finds contentment and peace within God's grace. "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4:10)

James writes to a community of people who continually find themselves in the tension between worldly and Godly wisdom, a tension that continues today. We cannot ever truly separate ourselves from the world, nor should we strive to. God created the heavens and the earth and called them good. There is much beauty, goodness, and love in the world. But we also must remember that the ways of the world tear down and destroy. We must be in the world but not of it. We must be able to be in the world in order to share God's love and grace with others. But we must also be able to stand back and view the things of this world from a spiritual perspective. We must be able to critique the world and call ourselves and others back to faithfulness. Like any tension, it is always a difficult balance to maintain. Thus the Christian community is so vital because it can offer us support, encouragement, and correction.