But if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. [James 3:14-16 NIV]
This is a very challenging section in James's letter. He talks about the state of our hearts, by which we know he means our minds and our desires. Notice the word 'harbour' is added by the translators of the New International Version. Other translations are more accurate but less colourful. I can begin to imagine this story of a man by the name of Trebor Yllien. Most folk would regard Treb as a good-living guy but he had a couple of dodgy relatives - one was called Bitter Envy and the other Selfish Ambition. Things began to go wrong when Bitter Envy turned up late one night and insisted on coming into Treb's house. Against his better judgement, Treb let Bitter in knowing full well he was on the run from the police. A couple of nights later, his other cousin knocked loudly on the door and demanded that Treb provide a lodging. He too was on the run and needing sanctuary. These two unwelcome guests caused havoc in Treb's house. Peace was shattered. Treb's life was in constant turmoil - he began to develop an intense jealousy for anyone who seemed to be more popular or more successful. He wanted more and more prominence. He began to whine if he had to go a full day without someone telling him what a great man he was and how much he was admired and respected. I guess you have worked out the significance of the name Trebor Yllien.
We are all prone to harbour these two dodgy guys deep down in the recesses of our heart. But notice that James has more to say on this subject. He talks about two wrong responses to the discovery that we are plagued by bitter envy and selfish ambition. Instead of acknowedging the presence of these deadly sins and seeking prayerfully to deal with them. To follow on with our allegory Treb needed to come to terms with the harm that his two evil friends were causing and throw them out unceremoniously. But Treb denied to everyone that Bitter Envy and Selfish Ambition were in his house even though the harmful effects were apparent to everyone. Now that was bad enough but he went even further - he began to brag and boast about his two relatives to other people. Instead of being ashamed, he saw this as something to be proud of.
James uses three words to describe this condition of the heart which is sadly so prevalent even in Christian circles. Firstly, he tells us that this is 'earthly' as distinct from heavenly. Secondly, he says that to have bitter envy and selfish ambition in our hearts is unspiritual - it is not the product of the Holy Spirit's influence. It is from our fleshly lusts and our old nature. Lastly, it is demonic - so James traces these two evils to Satan whose ambition led him to rebel against God's authority. He has demonstrated bitter envy against the Lord since his first disobedience against God.
There is nothing good about such a state of heart but we tolerate these two evils instead of rooting them out. At the root of both these evils, is our attitude to ourselves. If we have too high an opinion of ourselves, we will have an obsession with self-advancement and we will feel resentful and envious of anyone who seems to be a threat to our status and prominence. This is not unusual in business or in professional life but it is not to be expected in a church.
Comments