This past Sunday morning, Will preached from the end of James 3 in Sunday School. This is a passage that we are all pretty familiar with. We studied it as a team and as a camp staff at Northland last summer. The passage contrasts living life according to a wisdom from God and living life according to our own natural “wisdom” that we have as fallen human beings. The passage describes man’s kind of “wisdom” as earthly, sensual, and devilish.

As Will was talking through the text, He said that when we are living by wisdom from above, we have a vertical outlook on life. We are interpreting this life according to God, His will, and doing the right thing, right now. When we are living by our own “wisdom from below,” we have a horizontal focus on life. We are living life according to our desires and in the power of our flesh. This whole vertical/horizontal illustration of how I live my life hit home with me. I have studied this before, but I think this helped make it a little more clear to me.

The 3 words used to describe this “wisdom from below” are the words earthly, sensual, and devilish. I can conduct my life in an earthly way, living horizontally according to only what I can see. I can conduct my life sensually, living horizontally according to only what I feel. I can conduct my life devilishly, living horizontally by allowing myself to be influenced by this world system that is under the control of Satan.

I recognize this horizontal way of living in my own life. I live in an earthly way when I see trials as problems that I must solve right now in my own strength, instead of looking vertically and seeing God’s gracious hand leading me through hard things in His perfect will to expose areas of weakness and mature my faith. I live in a sensual way when I see temptations to sin as impossible to resist or as more attractive than God, instead of looking vertically and remembering that God will not allow me to be tempted “above that I am able” and will “make a way to escape,” and that every temptation is a chance for me to exercise myself for godliness. I live in a devilish way when I allow things to become idols that dominate my thinking and time, instead of looking vertically and seeing that God is the only one who is worthy of all my worship.

I cannot live life according to my own wisdom, always getting tripped up by fleshly stuff, groping about aimlessly on this horizontal plane. No, I need the wisdom that can only come from God and the relationship that I have with Him through Christ. My view must be vertical as I humbly submit myself to God’s will and strive to do the right thing, right now.

I’m thankful for this reminder from James.

-Matt Reid