ICS Daily Devotions
Earthly, Sensual and Demonic Wisdom
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
