For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. James 3:16
Our text today has some very strong words, but they will have more impact on us if we grasp at their actual meaning. So, let’s dabble in the Greek a bit, and see what the Holy Spirit intends for us to understand about these words.
The word ‘envyings’ comes from the Greek word ‘zelos’, and it indicates a fierce desire to promote one’s own ideas and convictions to the exclusion of everyone else. It’s the same root word from which we get ‘zealot’, which describes a person who is so captivated, obsessed, and fanatical about his own cause that others perceive him as an extremist on the threshold of becoming militant. That doesn’t sound like a person with a Christian attitude to me.
The next word to look at is ‘strife’, which is taken from the Greek word ‘eritheia’. The ancient Greeks used this word to describe a ‘political party’. It is often translated as a ‘party spirit’. People who create and work in a party have similar values and views. After the party is formed, the participants develop a unified agenda, and devote all their energies into pushing their agenda and ideas, fighting fiercely to see that their party’s platform is accepted and eventually put in the position of ruling and calling the shots. When you get two or more of these parties in operation, you can’t help but have strife. That doesn’t sound like a group with a Christian attitude to me.
One more word for our lesson today: the word ‘confusion’. This word comes from the word Greek ‘akatastasia’. It was used in New Testament times to describe civil disobedience, disorder, and anarchy in a city, state, or government. James is making it clear what happens when you have envyings and strife. It’s not a pretty picture, as it identifies an atmosphere that destroys relationships and in which rational thinking is replaced by raw emotions, and where people end up getting hurt. That doesn’t sound like a Christian atmosphere to me.
So, today’s lesson is simple. Avoid confusion and evil works by avoiding envyings and strife. – Jim MacIntosh