Finally finished James 3, and had to spend time looking up word definitions. The search even got me looking back at what James said in verse 12 about fig trees producing olives. Interesting that Jesus talked about the same kind of things (grapes on thorn bushes, etc.)
What struck me though, in 13-18 was how we are supposed to show that we have “wisdom”. It should be done in humility rather than in arrogance. My response to someone like that is kind of along the line “if you are so good with money, why aren’t you rich?”. To me, an arrogant person (who is a “wise” pretender) will bully their way through life. Big words come out, but their lives are not right.
They get caught up in themselves and forget that they don’t know everything. James says it’s tied to jealousy and selfishness. Something to watch for in my life – seeking God’s wisdom brings different results. Check out verse 17 and then take a look at Philippians 4:8.