Test 5: The Wisdom Test, Part 1

1. Introduction (13)
2. Roots of test-failing wisdom (14)
3. Attributes of test-failing wisdom (15)
4. Fruits of test-failing wisdom (16)

JAMES 3:13

Have you ever flown on one of those little puddle-jumper airplanes? I have and let me tell you, they’re not very much fun. If you’re in one of those and you hit turbulence, it will do wonders for your prayer life. A story is told about four people who were the only people on board one of those small planes. There was the pilot, a pastor, a Boy Scout, and the smartest man in the world. All of a sudden, the pilot came back to the cabin and informed everybody that the plane was going down. Then he let them know that there were only three parachutes on board. He said, “I’ve got a wife and three kids at home.” So he grabbed a parachute and jumped out. The rest of them looked at each other until the genius stood up and grabbed one. He said, “I’m the smartest man in the world. Everybody needs my awesome brain power.” Then before they could say anything, he jumped out. Then the pastor smiled at the boy and said, “Son, you’re young and I’m prepared to meet the Lord. You take the last parachute and I’ll go down with the plane.” The Boy Scout just laughed and said, “Chill out, preacher. The smartest man in the world just jumped out of the plane with my backpack on.” Sometimes there’s a difference between book-smarts and wisdom, isn’t there? As a matter of fact, there are even differences in wisdom. This morning and next week, we’ll be looking at what James has to tell us about wisdom. In verses 13-18 he describes two kinds of wisdom. He calls them worldly wisdom and wisdom from above. Man’s wisdom and the kind of wisdom that only comes from God. So far, James has given us four tests to see whether or not our faith is genuine faith. He’s given us the Bible test, the preference test, the works test, and the tongue test. Now, he’s giving us the wisdom test. Does that mean you have to be smart to have faith? Of course not. What it means is that if your faith is real, you will be wise. Not necessarily wise in the world’s eyes, but you will have the wisdom from above—real wisdom. You will have test-passing wisdom. I want each of us to truly be wise—not in the eyes of the world. But I want each of us to pass the wisdom test by being wise in the eyes of God. It’ll take us a couple of weeks to do that, because we’ve got to look at both kinds of wisdom. The kind that fails the faith test and the kind that passes it. This week, we’re going to look at the kind of wisdom that fails the faith test. Next week we’ll see the kind of wisdom that passes the faith test. Each kind of wisdom has three characteristics—roots, attributes and fruits. This morning we’re going to look at the kind of wisdom we don’t want. We’re going to look at three characteristics of test-failing wisdom. The first characteristic of test-failing wisdom is its roots. Look with me in verse 14.

JAMES 3:14

Did you know that tree roots can extend out till they cover an area up to three times the height of the tree? You might never realize that until one of those roots pokes its way into your sewer line. Or one begins to grow into your house foundation. We’ve all seen people pour concrete next to trees without even thinking about it. Then the next thing you know, the tree roots have cracked and