James 3:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

NIV: For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

NASB: For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.

CSB: For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.

NLT: For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

KJV: For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

NKJV: For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

The world's definition of success is getting whatever you want out of life. According to this attitude, each person should look around and decide what will make themselves happy—pleasure, money, power—and then make a plan to go get it. Whatever it takes, in order to get that result, is worth it, according to the wisdom of the world. The problem is that this wisdom runs on the engine of human envy and self-serving ambition. In the previous verses, James made clear that such so-called-wisdom isn't God's wisdom.

Worldliness, this false wisdom, promises to give us the desires of our hearts. Instead, it fills our hearts with envy. We're never really satisfied, because we learn to constantly covet what others have that we don't. And it fills our hearts with selfish ambition to do whatever is required to get what we want. James points out that the result of everyone focusing on themselves, and working for themselves, is disorder. Billions of personal agendas compete with each other, creating a form of chaos that seems both normal and exhausting to all of us.

The second result of worldly wisdom is every evil or vile practice. Why? Our self ambition will eventually require us to hurt someone else to get what we want. It encourages us to make excuses for our selfishness. It makes us hard and resistant to correction. Our standards for what is acceptable will eventually need to be compromised to keep us moving onward and upward, working under the world's system.

When everyone lives according to this worldly wisdom, pain and destruction become the norm. Self-sacrifice for the good of others becomes the rare exception. Consider the classic summary of evolution by natural selection: "nature, red in tooth and claw." If personal achievement is the most important goal, all sorts of immorality is implicitly on the table.

As James will spell out in the following two verses, those who follow the self-sacrificing wisdom of heaven experience a very different reality.

James 3:13–18 questions our concept of who is wise and understanding. James quickly answers: the truly wise, understanding person is one whose faith in God leads to selfless good works. Wise people live in the humility of wisdom, setting themselves aside to serve others. That's not worldly wisdom, which leaves each person responsible to serve him- or herself first. Earthly attitudes are driven by envy for what others have, and an ambition to take it. The result is disorder and evil instead of the peace, gentleness, and mercy that follow from living by heaven's wisdom.

Human words are powerful. Our tongues are small, but they are capable of wreaking great havoc. Any person who could perfectly control their words would be in perfect control of their entire bodies. Instead, as sinful human beings, our tongues are untamable. Our words are fire, igniting the entire course of our lives. Blessing God and cursing people should not come out of the same mouth; we are corrupted. James concludes the chapter by exploring what it means to be truly wise. True wisdom is not necessarily found in those with the most education, money, or friends. Rather, wise people can be spotted living wisely in humility, participating in good works, enjoying peace, singleness of purpose, and gentle lifestyles.

What does it look like to lead a life characterized by trusting God? Chapters 1 and 2 introduced the idea of how one's actions demonstrate the reality of their beliefs. Here, in chapter 3, James continues to explore this effect. In this passage, he talks about our words and heaven's wisdom. The one with perfect faith in God would have perfect control over his or her words. Worldly wisdom—envy and selfish ambition—with its me-first mentality is a source of disorder and evil in the world. God-trusting, self-sacrificing heavenly wisdom is the source of peace, gentleness, mercy and, ultimately, righteousness. Chapters 4 and 5 will make specific practical application of these thoughts.

The book of James is about specifically understanding what saving faith looks like. How does faith in Christ reveal itself in a believer's life? What choices does real trust in God lead us to make? Those are the questions James answers. Most scholars believe the writer was Jesus' half-brother, a son born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus' birth. James may not have come to believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection. Eventually, though, he became one of the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem. This is possibly the earliest-written of all the New Testament books, around AD 40–50. James addresses his letter to Jewish Christians scattered around the known world.