“Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark … The wisdom from heaven is first of all pure.” James 3:5, 17

(This week’s devotionals, originally published in January 2021, aligned with the sermon series “Disagree Deeply, Love Deeper Still: True Unity.” The writing team prays they will be an encouragement to you.)

Chatham Church wants to grow into a “noble cedar” church. Another way we talk about this is being a “big tent” church. “Big tent” does not mean lots of people who are all alike, who all agree—that’s pretty easy to do! But “big tent” means lots and lots of people who come from different ethnic, social, cultural, economic and educational groups … different religious backgrounds … vote differently, think differently, just are different, in all kinds of ways.  

Can anything hold a crew like that together? Is unity possible? If so, how—and what roles and responsibilities do we each have?

We’re using James 3 as our text this week, a chapter that looks first at the many ways our tongues can be sources of rancor and disunity, and then at the “wisdom from above.”

What might a wise, or at least wiser, use of our tongues look like or, better, sound like? What would we expect to hear in and from a church that is serious about pursuing unity in wise ways? If we want to grow into a noble cedar/big tent church, how will we need to “up our game” with respect to our tongues?

Here’s what James says about true wisdom: “The wisdom from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness” (vs. 17-18).

Pure speaks to motive: why am I saying what I’m saying? Is my core motivation the health and growth of the kingdom of God in our midst and in the world. Or is it that I and my side of the argument “win”?

Peace-loving speaks to the goal of my speaking: to see the peace of Christ rule and reign in our hearts and lives. “Peace” does not mean the absence of conflict but the presence of the kind of love that works through conflict towards kingdom peace.

Considerate speaks to how I honor and respect one another, especially those with whom I differ and disagree. I consider them to be bearers of God’s image as much as I am, to be loved by God just as much as I am.

Submissive speaks to humility, my willingness to get off my various high horses and submit myself to my sister’s or brother’s very different experiences, perspectives and understandings.

Full of mercy and good fruit speaks to the results of my speech: is the end result of my conversations a deeper experience of the mercy of God and the fruit of the Spirit? Or am I coming out of these conversations with a bitter taste in my mouth?

Impartial speaks to my willingness to honor others by listening to them deeply, thoughtfully, and prayerfully. It speaks to my willingness to admit that I may not know everything that needs to be understood about an area of disagreement.

Sincere speaks to the integrity of my speech and conversations (and disagreements and arguments!) I’m not pretending or faking, but I am fully committed to pursuing the truth and unity of Christ that will likely carry all of us beyond our current positions.

Imagine: a church of all kinds of people, gathered under the Lordship of Jesus, and speaking to one another and to the world in ways that are consistently pure, peaceable, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, genuine.

It wouldn’t mean we’d always agree about everything, but it sure would look like a community that is passionate about pursuing truth and unity, a community working really hard, together, to love one another and the world around us.

Which of these seven characteristics of wisdom comes hardest to you? Which do you think is difficult for us as a church? How could you turn these observations into prayer for yourself and our church?