You’ve Been Fooled
This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic, James 3:15
Demonic – There’s no doubt about it. James considers the wisdom of this world daimoniodes (literally – like the Devil). Doesn’t that seem a bit outlandish? Does James really intend for us to think that all our science, economics, philosophy, politics, etc. are demonic? Look at all the good these fields of human inquiry have done? Doesn’t that count in God’s book? Aren’t human beings created for progress?
In order to understand what James is saying, we have to have the same perspective that James enjoys. James is an eschatological pragmatist. That means he is focused on the here and now but with the vision of the eternal in mind. What he notices is that the very structure of this world and all of its systems, designs, achievements and dreams, are under the pervasive power of the prince of darkness. All human wisdom has been perverted to serve a false master. It may not have been totally corrupted. Not everyone is a Hitler. But the schematics of this world are bent, just enough so that if I live according to even the highest human morality I am still serving an imposter god. The problem is not that I can’t do very good things with all this information. The problem is that no collection of facts from this world is purified holy, fit for the King of kings. My greatest works are as filthy rags in the sight of unblemished holiness. To think otherwise is to be fooled. And most of us have been fooled – big time!
In the Bible, wisdom is never about the accumulation of facts. Wisdom is always relational and always about discerning what attitudes and actions bring me into alignment with the Creator. But my world is riddled with delusions, dead-ends and difficulties. Left to myself, I just simply cannot find my way to the personal God. His holiness is completely beyond me. I don’t have that “spark of the divine” within (a very popular lie). What I have within is the result of thousands of generations of distilled disobedience. I was born in the swamp of human arrogance and I have been drinking and breathing that environment since conception. Unless God reveals the wisdom I need from above, I am lost, even if I win one Nobel Prize after another. This is James’ perspective. If I don’t see the final purpose, I will be fooled into thinking that my understanding and knowledge is quite good enough.
James knows that the only real wisdom must come from God. It must come from a pure and holy source. It can never be discovered from the bottom up, because the bottom up process is always tainted by its source – me! Just ask the boys in theoretical physics about the influence of the observer. Pure? No way!
So, don’t be fooled. Don’t go off thinking that good is good enough. The only thing good enough is 100% holy. That’s why this world is the devil’s playground. He owns the swamp for the time being, and everything in it! If you want real wisdom, you will have to look elsewhere.
