For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
Where envying and strife are cherished, especially inward in the heart, disorder and every kind of evil follow. That bitter envying belongs to a wisdom from beneath that is earthly, sensual and devilish, while the wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, merciful and fruitful without partiality or hypocrisy. It springs from pride, ambition, selfishness and self-exaltation, the same spirit that cast Satan from heaven, and shows itself in suspicion, faultfinding, jealousy, harsh judgment, unkind and hasty speech, gossip and contention for supremacy. Among professed believers it weakens spirituality, spreads like leaven to poison many, breaks love and unity, drives unbelievers away, opens the door to Satan and hinders God's cause more than worldly opposition. Those who bear the last solemn message must therefore put away this spirit, be proved by meek good conduct, live as peacemakers in sympathy and love, and do the work of self-examination, confession and building speech under the Holy Spirit.
Words and Plain Meaning
For where envying and strife are cherished, especially in the heart, there is confusion or disorder and every evil work and every kind of wrongdoing. Envy with suspicion, faultfinding and evil surmising weakens spirituality and hinders the progress of God's cause, so love and unity are required among Christ's servants. Self-sufficiency and independence must be put away, and humility and teachability cultivated in order to receive what is valuable from others and to discern truth from error. This stands against the pure and peaceable wisdom from above, which is pure, peaceable, gentle, merciful, fruitful, impartial and sincere, and it calls those proclaiming the last solemn message to put away envying and strife and to be one in Christ, seeing eye to eye, speaking the same things, holding the same judgment despite different temperaments and dispositions. Even keen argument that supposes it has gained mastery is not to be gloried in when it comes from a controversial spirit, for it lies against the truth and is not pleasing to God, whereas the wisdom from above would rather suffer wrong than do injury to God's heritage.
The envying spoken of is bitter and inward, cherished in the heart as bitter envying and rivalry, and the confusion is disorder, variance, alienation, difference, contention and disaffection that follow wherever such a spirit rules. Such a condition proves the wisdom at work does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual and devilish, and to claim advanced spiritual knowledge or zeal while cherishing it is to lie against the truth and deny it in practice. In contrast to truth enthroned in the heart, which softens and subdues the soul, sanctifies and elevates and ennobles and purifies the character, and removes every species of selfishness through faith working by love as the beholding of Christ's self-denial, self-sacrifice, meekness, purity and holiness makes Christlike and one with Christ as Christ was one with the Father, this false wisdom leads to alienation and strife. The opposite character is proved by good conduct done with meekness of wisdom, and by the wisdom from above which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy, whose fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by peacemakers. Therefore supremacy and rule are not to be sought, nor one's own ideas carried against the judgment of the brethren with a dictatorial spirit, but one's own interests made secondary, with one mind and one judgment, active humility and true goodness, living as peacemakers in a world of sin and strife and variance.
An uncontrolled and untamed tongue stirs up this strife, talks too much, kindles fire, enjoys the resulting evil, breaks peace and harmony, and makes war instead of meekness. Where envying and strife are spoken by the tongue there are everlasting consequences, so hasty harsh words that tear down, dictate, aggravate and keep variance between brethren must not be vindicated but confessed, with pride conquered and soul humbled, with supposed wrongs, dissatisfaction, disunion and old wounds healed at once by going directly to the one involved and clearing the way, speaking only words under the Holy Spirit that build up, soften and subdue. Envying and strife mean speaking grievances to one another with bitter words, cherishing selfishness and self-profit, catching at supposed evil and feeding upon it, talking it over and presenting brethren in a distorted perverted light, strengthening evil speaking and watching for evil and creating unjust suspicion, setting thought and tongue on fire over trifling matters that occur wherever people associate together. This course plants bitter fibrous roots in the hearts of others that poison faith and defile souls, creates suspicion and strengthens distrust, alienates brother from brother, places God's servants in the worst possible light, hinders the work God desires to have accomplished, advances the work of the enemy, and brings all its consequences into judgment, while unwise words expressing doubt and accusing fellow believers can sow seeds that later bear fruit in unbelief and apostasy and injure minds and hearts. Therefore the tongue must be controlled, words and acts educated in carefulness, speech made select and well chosen, and joking, hilarity, strife and combativeness put away in order to be without fault and to carry out the commandments, and this truth must be carefully studied, considered, laid to heart, carried into daily life and made the rule for forming character unto entire transformation, bringing peace, wisdom, humbleness of mind and fruits unto righteousness when Christ is formed within.
Two Kinds of Wisdom
The wisdom that produces envying and strife does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual, and devilish, belonging to wisdom from beneath. Where bitter envying and strife are cherished in the heart there follows disorder and every kind of evil work and wrongdoing. Even keen argument that supposes it has gained mastery, with a spirit of controversy and contention, is not wisdom from God and does not please Him.
In direct contrast, the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. It is sincere and merciful and fruitful and impartial, the exact opposite in character to the wisdom that breeds envy and strife. It would rather suffer wrong than do injury to God's heritage.
To glory in bitter envying and strife while claiming advanced spiritual knowledge is to lie against the truth. Criticism, evil surmising, harsh judgment, and unkind speech reveal this same spirit even when presented as zeal for truth, and they deny the truth in practice. Such a spirit can spread discord through a church or community, and must not seek supremacy or rule or carry its own ideas against the judgment of the brethren with a dictatorial spirit.
True wisdom is proved by good conduct with meekness of wisdom, not by profession alone. Truth enthroned in the heart softens and subdues the soul, sanctifies and elevates and ennobles and purifies the character, giving faith that works by love and purifies from every species of selfishness. Its fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them that make peace, by peacemakers. Those called to save souls show this wisdom by feeling a burden for people, with selfish interests swallowed up in deep concern for the salvation of souls for whom Christ died.
Roots and Manifestations
Envy and strife are rooted in pride, ambition, selfishness and self-exaltation, the same pride and ambition cherished in the heart of Satan that banished him from heaven and deeply rooted in fallen human nature. Where they rule in the heart there is confusion and every evil work, and the wisdom that produces them does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual and devilish. Those who manifest envying, jealousy, bitterness, dissension, pride, censoriousness and fault-finding are yielding obedience to Satan and holding communion with an evil spirit, not with Christ, and this is the unholy fruit of a heart not in harmony with Jesus and the ruling mark of the children of Satan who live in continual contradiction. Such words and actions are evil fruit proving the person is not a branch of the true vine abiding in Christ, for those truly connected with God are not at variance with one another because His Spirit creates harmony, peace, love and unity, with the meekness of Christ and with benevolence, kindness, mercy and love from infinite wisdom as the test of what fruit is borne. Repressing a spirit of envy or emulation is a religious duty, requiring rejoicing in the superior reputation or prosperity of brethren even when one's own character or achievements seem cast in the shade, for if pride and ambition are not removed they will overshadow every good and noble quality and bring forth envy and strife with their evil results. Such self-sufficient, envious, jealous and critical workers should not be tolerated in sacred work and ministry even if they have apparently accomplished some good, in contrast to the wisdom from above which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy, with the fruit of righteousness sown in peace by peacemakers.
They appear as envy, suspicion, faultfinding and evil surmising among professed believers, which weaken spirituality and hinder the progress of God's cause. They appear as jealousy and competition for supremacy in workers' relationships, preventing peace, unity and love and misrepresenting the truth, and as criticism, evil surmising, harsh judgment and unkind speech that reveal earthly wisdom even when presented as zeal for truth, denying the truth in practice and able to spread discord through a church or community. They appear as jealousy, faultfinding, talebearing, gossip and busy meddling that sow dissension and stir up strife instead of peacemaking, and as sarcasm, ridicule, evil feeling and contention, with one person's unkind thoughts and evil speaking able to stir up destructive passions that spread among those around them. This discord defeats Christ's prayer for His disciples to be one, for cherished prejudice, resentment, unkindness and hardness of heart let Satan rule the heart and exclude Christ. The warning is especially for missionaries, Bible teachers and church workers to resist the first signs of disagreement or harshness and to practice the truth they teach, since truth's sanctifying power drives out what leads to strife, and a teacher's fitness is shown by meekness and wise conduct, not by profession alone.
They also appear as doubts, cavilings, playing upon words, sarcasm, evil feelings, bearing false witness, making light of God's message and messengers, ridiculing, misrepresenting and quibbling upon words, which are the fruit of wisdom from beneath and an offense to God. Even keen argument that supposes it has gained mastery is not to be gloried in when it comes from a controversial spirit of rivalry and contention, for God is not pleased with it, it lies against the truth, and its wisdom is not from above but earthly, sensual and devilish, opposite to the wisdom from above which would rather suffer wrong than do injury to God's heritage. Heated feelings and unsanctified criticism can lead to rash actions, especially when people defend their own views instead of calmly investigating them, and turning away from close reproof belongs to the same spirit. That spirit brings delusion, bitterness, wrath and hatred, starves souls needing food, and works to hold people away from reviving light that magnifies Christ and to block God's command to go forward.
Comparing oneself with others and resenting another's honor or success fosters this same disorder and evil, as does insisting on one's own way with a strong, masterly, insubordinate spirit that refuses to obey and seeks to command. Seeking to dominate fellow workers and make one's own will the ruling power causes harm to others and endangers the souls of both those who exercise authority and those under it, while selfish, conceited plans and unfair efforts to control or take what God has entrusted to others display this corrupt spirit and its harmful results. Zeal for one's own ideas that sacrifices friendship, presses principles one does not practice, or becomes domineering and overbearing and seeks to carry ideas against the judgment of others reflects a spirit that is not from God and fails to represent Christ. Indulging harmful appetites and desires fosters the same confusion and every evil work, for dependence on tea, coffee, tobacco, opium or alcohol and cherished appetites deaden mind and body, weaken people, make them less receptive to the Holy Spirit, and hinder them from glorifying God.
Harm to Church Witness
Among professed believers envy, suspicion, faultfinding and evil surmising weaken spiritual life and bring spiritual dearth and feebleness into the church. This inward evil holds back the progress of God's cause and brings grievous disaster upon the church more than the opposition of the world does. Strife of tongues, gossip and censure dishonor God and weaken the hands of His professed children. The remedy is to be hid in self-surrendered union with Christ, with character molded to His and will surrendered to His, drawing nearer to God and to one another in harmony and union, putting sympathy and love and desire to strengthen feeble hands in place of gossip.
One person's unkind thoughts, jealousy, evil suspicions, pride and accusing speech can stir up destructive passions and spread through a church or institution like leaven. Calling this spirit zeal for truth does not change its earthly, sensual, devilish source, for criticism, harsh judgment and unkind speech deny the truth in practice and defeat Christ's prayer for His disciples to be one. Cherished prejudice, resentment, unkindness and hardness of heart let Satan rule the heart and exclude Christ. Envying and strife mean speaking grievances to one another with bitter words, cherishing selfishness and self-profit, catching at supposed evil and feeding upon it, talking it over and presenting brethren in a distorted, perverted light, strengthening evil speaking and watching for evil and creating unjust suspicion, with thought and tongue set on fire over trifling matters that occur wherever people associate together. This course plants bitter, fibrous roots in the hearts of others that poison faith and defile souls, creates suspicion and strengthens distrust, alienates brother from brother, places God's servants in the worst possible light, hinders the work God desires to have accomplished, advances the work of the enemy, and brings all its consequences into judgment. Unwise words expressing doubt and accusing fellow believers can sow seeds that later bear the fruit of unbelief and apostasy and injure minds and hearts, for envy and evil thoughts about others can remain quiet for a time, then break out when circumstances give them an opening, and indulging this spirit strengthens it until it becomes a habit that ruins a person.
Jealousy and competition for supremacy among workers prevent peace, unity and love and misrepresent the truth, so the first signs of disagreement or harshness must be resisted and the truth taught must be practiced, since its sanctifying power drives out what leads to strife. An untamed tongue that talks too much, stirs up strife, kindles fire and enjoys the resulting evil breaks peace and harmony and makes war instead of meekness, and it must be controlled and educated to careful, select, well-chosen speech, with joking, hilarity, strife and combativeness put away. Contention and strife among those yoked to Christ, drawn apart in judgment and opinions because hearts and minds are not under discipline to God, deny the oneness of Christ and are viewed with disapproval by the heavenly universe. Suspicion, judging, criticizing and condemning one another must give place to Christ's mind and example, which lead to unity and love rather than variance. Where evil suspicions and jealousies among coworkers destroy sweet union, continuing with unchanged characters would only prolong contention and sorrow, and without converting power it is better to leave the field than to remain in that discouraging atmosphere. Words and actions out of harmony with sacred truth give the watching world occasion to find defect and inconsistency, to reproach faith and to doubt whether faith sanctifies the heart and changes character into Christ's likeness, while unconsecrated lives of half-hearted professors retard the work of truth and bring darkness upon the church.
Cherished envy, jealousy, contention and division give room for Satan's influence and separate people from God, and churches are ruined when they persist in it. Variance, disaffection, selfishness and conceit are fruits of a divided heart open to Satan, who exalts and rejoices when he sows dissension, while closer union with Christ brings closer union with one another. When people are ruled by human judgment and made dependent on one another instead of God, confusion, distrust, jealousy and evil suspicions result, undermining faith and the principles that should purge guilt, selfishness and hypocrisy. In daily work selfishness, envy and jealousy keep workers from sharing knowledge and experience, seeking counsel and helping one another, and this hinders the work and leaves little room for God's help, whereas unity, teachability and willingness to help would foster Christian harmony and better work.
In the home a spirit of contention, envy or bitterness prevents Jesus from abiding there. Envy and strife are among the corrupt practices found even in professedly Christian households, alongside hypocrisy, estrangement, betrayal and lust. Much church difficulty comes from everyone insisting on his own way instead of God's way and thinking it best, while envious thoughts against brethren, when allowed to rise and cherished in the mind, lead on to impure actions and leave a person uncleared and at fault, so this spirit must be put away entirely and love must rule in families.
History and Warning Examples
Envy joined with strife produces confusion and every kind of evil work, and envy itself is profoundly harmful in its effects among people. Miriam's envy and dissatisfaction illustrate this harm, for if they had not been rebuked they would have led to great evil.
There are two kinds of wisdom, wisdom from above that is God's gift to everyone who asks Him in faith, and wisdom from beneath that is followed when the Lord's people turn from the God of all wisdom to men who do not love God in order to obtain wisdom and reach decisions. Solomon sought wisdom from God and received it in large measure, but then perverted that great and holy gift to exalt himself. He looked to man instead of God and sought wise men from other nations to build the temple, leagued himself with idolatrous nations, and imperiled his soul by friendships and marriages with the Lord's enemies. Companionship with the world lowers the standard of religious principle, brings in the leaven of polygamy and idolatry, blunts fine sensibilities, hardens the heart, destroys sympathy for man and love for God, sears the conscience, and turns rule into tyranny. The silver of Tarshish and the gold of Ophir were gained at the terrible expense of betrayed sacred trusts, and although Solomon afterward repented, his repentance could not abolish the idolatrous practices brought into the nation, for each person transmits an inheritance of either good or evil.
Where bitter envying and strife are in the heart there is confusion and every evil work, proving the wisdom at work is not from above but is earthly, sensual, and devilish. Where jealousy and party strife rule there follows disorder and every kind of evil practice. That earthly wisdom was the spirit brought to the Minneapolis conference: doubts, cavilings, playing upon words, sarcasm, evil feelings, bearing false witness, making light of God's message and messengers, ridiculing, misrepresenting, and quibbling upon words. It included turning away from the close reproofs of the Spirit of God as idle fables. Such conduct is an offense to God and must have no place among His people, especially when souls are starving for food and must be fed. That spirit brings delusion, bitterness, wrath, and hatred, starves souls needing food, and works to hold people away from reviving light that magnifies Christ and to block God's command to go forward.
Envy and strife produce confusion and every kind of evil work, and wisdom from beneath is marked by selfish ambition leading to disorder and every kind of evil. Selfish, conceited plans and unfair efforts to control or take what God has entrusted to others display this corrupt spirit and its harmful results. Selfish interests wrong a neighbor for personal gain, and deception may be exposed despite efforts to hide it, so openness and truthfulness are required rather than self-exaltation. Wisdom expressed through strife and envy is not from above but belongs to the enemy's ground and does not bring relief, manifesting a wrong and harmful course. The lawsuit against the church and the threatened suit are manifestations of conduct arising from wisdom that is not from above, bringing disorder and evil as a wrong course that would not help resolve the situation. Political involvement that draws God's commandment-keeping people into worldly contention reflects a spirit that produces strife and every evil work rather than God's leading, and they are to avoid this entanglement and work to establish His kingdom in righteousness.
Unity Peacemaking and Restoration
Those carrying the last solemn message to a dying world must put away bitter envying and strife from the heart, for where they exist they bring disorder and every kind of evil work as a denial of the truth, belonging to a wisdom that is earthly, sensual and devilish and not from above. The opposite character required is works done with meekness of wisdom and the pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, merciful, fruitful, impartial and unhypocritical wisdom from above that sows righteousness in peace by peacemakers. This means having no divisions but seeing eye to eye in all religious belief, speaking the same things, being perfectly joined in the same mind and judgment, bearing the infirmities of the weak, walking in the Spirit, and being one in Christ as Christ is one with the Father. Contention and being drawn apart in judgment and opinions come when hearts and minds are not under discipline to God and Christ's yoke is not worn, when self rises up and men are offended because others do not think according to their opinions, and such division denies the oneness of Christ, is viewed with disapproval by the heavenly universe, and gives way only when the Lord is regarded as the great center bringing close connection between all lines of work with no divisions but mutual connection and dependence devoid of selfishness. Holding to self, insisting one's own course and words and reasoning are right without modification, carrying one's ideas against the judgment of the brethren, and refusing correction brings disaffection and lack of harmonious action.
Christ's servants must reject self-sufficiency, independence, unteachability and dictatorial mastery, for envy and strife bring confusion and every evil action and heavenly wisdom produces love and unity among God's workers. No one is to consider himself authority in all things, follow one man's mind and judgment as a shadow of any man, seek supremacy or rule, or refuse to learn from one another, but all are to make their own interests secondary, cherish active humility and true goodness, remain humble and teachable, and be willing to be entreated by brethren. True wisdom from above is teachable and easy to be entreated, softening and subduing hearts by the Spirit of Jesus, and God's workers as free moral agents are bound together to gather light from Him to reflect to others while gaining wisdom from men of experience, absorbing common sense from others' experience and education and casting aside what is not of value. Heavenly wisdom is given by God in answer to earnest prayer to everyone engaged in His work, and was seen when ministers of different languages gathered in council and earnest prayer was answered with the sweet spirit of Jesus drawing brethren near each other.
In a world of sin and strife and variance they must live as peacemakers advancing the work of God, showing wisdom by good conduct with meekness, putting away bitter feelings, criticism, harsh speech and wounding words that destroy, and doing nothing through strife or vainglory. Men called to save souls show this wisdom when selfish interests are swallowed up in deep concern and burden for the salvation of souls for whom Christ died, with sympathy and love of God and desire to strengthen the hands that hang down and confirm the feeble knees in place of gossip, censure and strife of tongues that dishonors God and brings dearth and feebleness into the church. The changed heart required is humble, courteous conduct marked by love, fairness, generosity, tenderness and compassion toward others, which are expressions of God's law and character and must be practiced in religious service, resisting a dictatorial or self-seeking spirit.
Peace gained by laying aside truth and the cross is not Christ's peace but a false and deceptive peace, for earthly, sensual, devilish wisdom is opposed to the pure and peaceable wisdom from above. A profession of truth or agreement with it in judgment alone does not make wisdom godly, for envy and strife reveal that truth has not been woven into the character and the person presents it in a way that reflects those wrong qualities, which is not Christian boldness but from the devil and not from God.
Every church member must learn through close self-examination in the light of the Word to do the essential work of cleansing the heart from self, pride and lust that cause wars and fightings, by submitting to God, resisting the devil, drawing nigh to God, cleansing the hands, purifying the double mind, and humbling the soul that God may lift up and give more grace. Instead of watching and accusing a brother or sister, magnifying supposed slights, questioning and finding fault with everything and every man's teaching, each person should examine his own life and whether he is in the faith, read the chapter carefully and criticize himself severely. An untamed tongue that talks too much, stirs up strife, kindles fire and enjoys the resulting evil breaks peace and harmony and makes war instead of meekness, so speech must be made select and well chosen, hasty harsh words that tear down, dictate, aggravate and keep variance between brethren must not be vindicated but confessed with pride conquered and soul humbled before God, supposed wrongs and old wounds healed at once by going directly to the one involved, joking, hilarity, strife and combativeness put away, and only words under the Holy Spirit that build up, soften and subdue spoken, with words and acts educated in carefulness and made the rule for forming character unto entire transformation. This truth must be carefully studied, considered, laid to heart and carried into daily life to be without fault before the throne of God and to carry out the ten commandments, bringing peace, wisdom, humbleness of mind and fruits unto righteousness when Christ is formed within, for yielding to passion instead of practicing Christ's meekness, patience and love brings harm and leads away from God.
A worker with quarrel in disposition and heart who stirs up strife and dissensions, demerits fellow ministers and gathers sympathizers while working on his own responsibility, builds obstructions so the truth means nothing to the receiver and sows envy and faultfinding instead of refining, elevating, strengthening and purifying the church, weakening and discouraging members and destroying the moral image of God in them and leaving self-love and high self-esteem upon the church. Such a worker cannot be trusted and should not be sustained in the ministry unless converted, and it is best for him to stop preaching and go into business, because continuing leads to apostasy and fall into the snare of Satan. Self-sufficient, envious, jealous and critical workers who manifest bitterness, dissension, pride, censoriousness and fault-finding are yielding obedience to Satan and holding communion with an evil spirit, not with Christ, and should not be tolerated in sacred work even if they have apparently accomplished some good, in contrast to humble, gentle, patient, forgiving and loving workers in whom the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace. Manifesting a jealous spirit with evil surmising reveals a characteristic of Satan and harbors a desire originating in him that hinders reaching the high standard of the Word and grieves the Spirit of God, and if continued in Satan works through those who hold it to spoil influence, so such characters cannot be afforded a place in the work and every worker must stand on the platform of eternal truth free from every satanic desire.
Where envying and strife are cherished, especially inward in the heart, disorder and every kind of evil follow. That bitter envying belongs to a wisdom from beneath that is earthly, sensual and devilish, while the wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, merciful and fruitful without partiality or hypocrisy. It springs from pride, ambition, selfishness and self-exaltation, the same spirit that cast Satan from heaven, and shows itself in suspicion, faultfinding, jealousy, harsh judgment, unkind and hasty speech, gossip and contention for supremacy. Among professed believers it weakens spirituality, spreads like leaven to poison many, breaks love and unity, drives unbelievers away, opens the door to Satan and hinders God's cause more than worldly opposition. Those who bear the last solemn message must therefore put away this spirit, be proved by meek good conduct, live as peacemakers in sympathy and love, and do the work of self-examination, confession and building speech under the Holy Spirit.
Words and Plain Meaning
For where envying and strife are cherished, especially in the heart, there is confusion or disorder and every evil work and every kind of wrongdoing. Envy with suspicion, faultfinding and evil surmising weakens spirituality and hinders the progress of God's cause, so love and unity are required among Christ's servants. Self-sufficiency and independence must be put away, and humility and teachability cultivated in order to receive what is valuable from others and to discern truth from error. This stands against the pure and peaceable wisdom from above, which is pure, peaceable, gentle, merciful, fruitful, impartial and sincere, and it calls those proclaiming the last solemn message to put away envying and strife and to be one in Christ, seeing eye to eye, speaking the same things, holding the same judgment despite different temperaments and dispositions. Even keen argument that supposes it has gained mastery is not to be gloried in when it comes from a controversial spirit, for it lies against the truth and is not pleasing to God, whereas the wisdom from above would rather suffer wrong than do injury to God's heritage.
The envying spoken of is bitter and inward, cherished in the heart as bitter envying and rivalry, and the confusion is disorder, variance, alienation, difference, contention and disaffection that follow wherever such a spirit rules. Such a condition proves the wisdom at work does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual and devilish, and to claim advanced spiritual knowledge or zeal while cherishing it is to lie against the truth and deny it in practice. In contrast to truth enthroned in the heart, which softens and subdues the soul, sanctifies and elevates and ennobles and purifies the character, and removes every species of selfishness through faith working by love as the beholding of Christ's self-denial, self-sacrifice, meekness, purity and holiness makes Christlike and one with Christ as Christ was one with the Father, this false wisdom leads to alienation and strife. The opposite character is proved by good conduct done with meekness of wisdom, and by the wisdom from above which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy, whose fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by peacemakers. Therefore supremacy and rule are not to be sought, nor one's own ideas carried against the judgment of the brethren with a dictatorial spirit, but one's own interests made secondary, with one mind and one judgment, active humility and true goodness, living as peacemakers in a world of sin and strife and variance.
An uncontrolled and untamed tongue stirs up this strife, talks too much, kindles fire, enjoys the resulting evil, breaks peace and harmony, and makes war instead of meekness. Where envying and strife are spoken by the tongue there are everlasting consequences, so hasty harsh words that tear down, dictate, aggravate and keep variance between brethren must not be vindicated but confessed, with pride conquered and soul humbled, with supposed wrongs, dissatisfaction, disunion and old wounds healed at once by going directly to the one involved and clearing the way, speaking only words under the Holy Spirit that build up, soften and subdue. Envying and strife mean speaking grievances to one another with bitter words, cherishing selfishness and self-profit, catching at supposed evil and feeding upon it, talking it over and presenting brethren in a distorted perverted light, strengthening evil speaking and watching for evil and creating unjust suspicion, setting thought and tongue on fire over trifling matters that occur wherever people associate together. This course plants bitter fibrous roots in the hearts of others that poison faith and defile souls, creates suspicion and strengthens distrust, alienates brother from brother, places God's servants in the worst possible light, hinders the work God desires to have accomplished, advances the work of the enemy, and brings all its consequences into judgment, while unwise words expressing doubt and accusing fellow believers can sow seeds that later bear fruit in unbelief and apostasy and injure minds and hearts. Therefore the tongue must be controlled, words and acts educated in carefulness, speech made select and well chosen, and joking, hilarity, strife and combativeness put away in order to be without fault and to carry out the commandments, and this truth must be carefully studied, considered, laid to heart, carried into daily life and made the rule for forming character unto entire transformation, bringing peace, wisdom, humbleness of mind and fruits unto righteousness when Christ is formed within.
Two Kinds of Wisdom
The wisdom that produces envying and strife does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual, and devilish, belonging to wisdom from beneath. Where bitter envying and strife are cherished in the heart there follows disorder and every kind of evil work and wrongdoing. Even keen argument that supposes it has gained mastery, with a spirit of controversy and contention, is not wisdom from God and does not please Him.
In direct contrast, the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. It is sincere and merciful and fruitful and impartial, the exact opposite in character to the wisdom that breeds envy and strife. It would rather suffer wrong than do injury to God's heritage.
To glory in bitter envying and strife while claiming advanced spiritual knowledge is to lie against the truth. Criticism, evil surmising, harsh judgment, and unkind speech reveal this same spirit even when presented as zeal for truth, and they deny the truth in practice. Such a spirit can spread discord through a church or community, and must not seek supremacy or rule or carry its own ideas against the judgment of the brethren with a dictatorial spirit.
True wisdom is proved by good conduct with meekness of wisdom, not by profession alone. Truth enthroned in the heart softens and subdues the soul, sanctifies and elevates and ennobles and purifies the character, giving faith that works by love and purifies from every species of selfishness. Its fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them that make peace, by peacemakers. Those called to save souls show this wisdom by feeling a burden for people, with selfish interests swallowed up in deep concern for the salvation of souls for whom Christ died.
Roots and Manifestations
Envy and strife are rooted in pride, ambition, selfishness and self-exaltation, the same pride and ambition cherished in the heart of Satan that banished him from heaven and deeply rooted in fallen human nature. Where they rule in the heart there is confusion and every evil work, and the wisdom that produces them does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual and devilish. Those who manifest envying, jealousy, bitterness, dissension, pride, censoriousness and fault-finding are yielding obedience to Satan and holding communion with an evil spirit, not with Christ, and this is the unholy fruit of a heart not in harmony with Jesus and the ruling mark of the children of Satan who live in continual contradiction. Such words and actions are evil fruit proving the person is not a branch of the true vine abiding in Christ, for those truly connected with God are not at variance with one another because His Spirit creates harmony, peace, love and unity, with the meekness of Christ and with benevolence, kindness, mercy and love from infinite wisdom as the test of what fruit is borne. Repressing a spirit of envy or emulation is a religious duty, requiring rejoicing in the superior reputation or prosperity of brethren even when one's own character or achievements seem cast in the shade, for if pride and ambition are not removed they will overshadow every good and noble quality and bring forth envy and strife with their evil results. Such self-sufficient, envious, jealous and critical workers should not be tolerated in sacred work and ministry even if they have apparently accomplished some good, in contrast to the wisdom from above which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy, with the fruit of righteousness sown in peace by peacemakers.
They appear as envy, suspicion, faultfinding and evil surmising among professed believers, which weaken spirituality and hinder the progress of God's cause. They appear as jealousy and competition for supremacy in workers' relationships, preventing peace, unity and love and misrepresenting the truth, and as criticism, evil surmising, harsh judgment and unkind speech that reveal earthly wisdom even when presented as zeal for truth, denying the truth in practice and able to spread discord through a church or community. They appear as jealousy, faultfinding, talebearing, gossip and busy meddling that sow dissension and stir up strife instead of peacemaking, and as sarcasm, ridicule, evil feeling and contention, with one person's unkind thoughts and evil speaking able to stir up destructive passions that spread among those around them. This discord defeats Christ's prayer for His disciples to be one, for cherished prejudice, resentment, unkindness and hardness of heart let Satan rule the heart and exclude Christ. The warning is especially for missionaries, Bible teachers and church workers to resist the first signs of disagreement or harshness and to practice the truth they teach, since truth's sanctifying power drives out what leads to strife, and a teacher's fitness is shown by meekness and wise conduct, not by profession alone.
They also appear as doubts, cavilings, playing upon words, sarcasm, evil feelings, bearing false witness, making light of God's message and messengers, ridiculing, misrepresenting and quibbling upon words, which are the fruit of wisdom from beneath and an offense to God. Even keen argument that supposes it has gained mastery is not to be gloried in when it comes from a controversial spirit of rivalry and contention, for God is not pleased with it, it lies against the truth, and its wisdom is not from above but earthly, sensual and devilish, opposite to the wisdom from above which would rather suffer wrong than do injury to God's heritage. Heated feelings and unsanctified criticism can lead to rash actions, especially when people defend their own views instead of calmly investigating them, and turning away from close reproof belongs to the same spirit. That spirit brings delusion, bitterness, wrath and hatred, starves souls needing food, and works to hold people away from reviving light that magnifies Christ and to block God's command to go forward.
Comparing oneself with others and resenting another's honor or success fosters this same disorder and evil, as does insisting on one's own way with a strong, masterly, insubordinate spirit that refuses to obey and seeks to command. Seeking to dominate fellow workers and make one's own will the ruling power causes harm to others and endangers the souls of both those who exercise authority and those under it, while selfish, conceited plans and unfair efforts to control or take what God has entrusted to others display this corrupt spirit and its harmful results. Zeal for one's own ideas that sacrifices friendship, presses principles one does not practice, or becomes domineering and overbearing and seeks to carry ideas against the judgment of others reflects a spirit that is not from God and fails to represent Christ. Indulging harmful appetites and desires fosters the same confusion and every evil work, for dependence on tea, coffee, tobacco, opium or alcohol and cherished appetites deaden mind and body, weaken people, make them less receptive to the Holy Spirit, and hinder them from glorifying God.
Harm to Church Witness
Among professed believers envy, suspicion, faultfinding and evil surmising weaken spiritual life and bring spiritual dearth and feebleness into the church. This inward evil holds back the progress of God's cause and brings grievous disaster upon the church more than the opposition of the world does. Strife of tongues, gossip and censure dishonor God and weaken the hands of His professed children. The remedy is to be hid in self-surrendered union with Christ, with character molded to His and will surrendered to His, drawing nearer to God and to one another in harmony and union, putting sympathy and love and desire to strengthen feeble hands in place of gossip.
One person's unkind thoughts, jealousy, evil suspicions, pride and accusing speech can stir up destructive passions and spread through a church or institution like leaven. Calling this spirit zeal for truth does not change its earthly, sensual, devilish source, for criticism, harsh judgment and unkind speech deny the truth in practice and defeat Christ's prayer for His disciples to be one. Cherished prejudice, resentment, unkindness and hardness of heart let Satan rule the heart and exclude Christ. Envying and strife mean speaking grievances to one another with bitter words, cherishing selfishness and self-profit, catching at supposed evil and feeding upon it, talking it over and presenting brethren in a distorted, perverted light, strengthening evil speaking and watching for evil and creating unjust suspicion, with thought and tongue set on fire over trifling matters that occur wherever people associate together. This course plants bitter, fibrous roots in the hearts of others that poison faith and defile souls, creates suspicion and strengthens distrust, alienates brother from brother, places God's servants in the worst possible light, hinders the work God desires to have accomplished, advances the work of the enemy, and brings all its consequences into judgment. Unwise words expressing doubt and accusing fellow believers can sow seeds that later bear the fruit of unbelief and apostasy and injure minds and hearts, for envy and evil thoughts about others can remain quiet for a time, then break out when circumstances give them an opening, and indulging this spirit strengthens it until it becomes a habit that ruins a person.
Jealousy and competition for supremacy among workers prevent peace, unity and love and misrepresent the truth, so the first signs of disagreement or harshness must be resisted and the truth taught must be practiced, since its sanctifying power drives out what leads to strife. An untamed tongue that talks too much, stirs up strife, kindles fire and enjoys the resulting evil breaks peace and harmony and makes war instead of meekness, and it must be controlled and educated to careful, select, well-chosen speech, with joking, hilarity, strife and combativeness put away. Contention and strife among those yoked to Christ, drawn apart in judgment and opinions because hearts and minds are not under discipline to God, deny the oneness of Christ and are viewed with disapproval by the heavenly universe. Suspicion, judging, criticizing and condemning one another must give place to Christ's mind and example, which lead to unity and love rather than variance. Where evil suspicions and jealousies among coworkers destroy sweet union, continuing with unchanged characters would only prolong contention and sorrow, and without converting power it is better to leave the field than to remain in that discouraging atmosphere. Words and actions out of harmony with sacred truth give the watching world occasion to find defect and inconsistency, to reproach faith and to doubt whether faith sanctifies the heart and changes character into Christ's likeness, while unconsecrated lives of half-hearted professors retard the work of truth and bring darkness upon the church.
Cherished envy, jealousy, contention and division give room for Satan's influence and separate people from God, and churches are ruined when they persist in it. Variance, disaffection, selfishness and conceit are fruits of a divided heart open to Satan, who exalts and rejoices when he sows dissension, while closer union with Christ brings closer union with one another. When people are ruled by human judgment and made dependent on one another instead of God, confusion, distrust, jealousy and evil suspicions result, undermining faith and the principles that should purge guilt, selfishness and hypocrisy. In daily work selfishness, envy and jealousy keep workers from sharing knowledge and experience, seeking counsel and helping one another, and this hinders the work and leaves little room for God's help, whereas unity, teachability and willingness to help would foster Christian harmony and better work.
In the home a spirit of contention, envy or bitterness prevents Jesus from abiding there. Envy and strife are among the corrupt practices found even in professedly Christian households, alongside hypocrisy, estrangement, betrayal and lust. Much church difficulty comes from everyone insisting on his own way instead of God's way and thinking it best, while envious thoughts against brethren, when allowed to rise and cherished in the mind, lead on to impure actions and leave a person uncleared and at fault, so this spirit must be put away entirely and love must rule in families.
History and Warning Examples
Envy joined with strife produces confusion and every kind of evil work, and envy itself is profoundly harmful in its effects among people. Miriam's envy and dissatisfaction illustrate this harm, for if they had not been rebuked they would have led to great evil.
There are two kinds of wisdom, wisdom from above that is God's gift to everyone who asks Him in faith, and wisdom from beneath that is followed when the Lord's people turn from the God of all wisdom to men who do not love God in order to obtain wisdom and reach decisions. Solomon sought wisdom from God and received it in large measure, but then perverted that great and holy gift to exalt himself. He looked to man instead of God and sought wise men from other nations to build the temple, leagued himself with idolatrous nations, and imperiled his soul by friendships and marriages with the Lord's enemies. Companionship with the world lowers the standard of religious principle, brings in the leaven of polygamy and idolatry, blunts fine sensibilities, hardens the heart, destroys sympathy for man and love for God, sears the conscience, and turns rule into tyranny. The silver of Tarshish and the gold of Ophir were gained at the terrible expense of betrayed sacred trusts, and although Solomon afterward repented, his repentance could not abolish the idolatrous practices brought into the nation, for each person transmits an inheritance of either good or evil.
Where bitter envying and strife are in the heart there is confusion and every evil work, proving the wisdom at work is not from above but is earthly, sensual, and devilish. Where jealousy and party strife rule there follows disorder and every kind of evil practice. That earthly wisdom was the spirit brought to the Minneapolis conference: doubts, cavilings, playing upon words, sarcasm, evil feelings, bearing false witness, making light of God's message and messengers, ridiculing, misrepresenting, and quibbling upon words. It included turning away from the close reproofs of the Spirit of God as idle fables. Such conduct is an offense to God and must have no place among His people, especially when souls are starving for food and must be fed. That spirit brings delusion, bitterness, wrath, and hatred, starves souls needing food, and works to hold people away from reviving light that magnifies Christ and to block God's command to go forward.
Envy and strife produce confusion and every kind of evil work, and wisdom from beneath is marked by selfish ambition leading to disorder and every kind of evil. Selfish, conceited plans and unfair efforts to control or take what God has entrusted to others display this corrupt spirit and its harmful results. Selfish interests wrong a neighbor for personal gain, and deception may be exposed despite efforts to hide it, so openness and truthfulness are required rather than self-exaltation. Wisdom expressed through strife and envy is not from above but belongs to the enemy's ground and does not bring relief, manifesting a wrong and harmful course. The lawsuit against the church and the threatened suit are manifestations of conduct arising from wisdom that is not from above, bringing disorder and evil as a wrong course that would not help resolve the situation. Political involvement that draws God's commandment-keeping people into worldly contention reflects a spirit that produces strife and every evil work rather than God's leading, and they are to avoid this entanglement and work to establish His kingdom in righteousness.
Unity Peacemaking and Restoration
Those carrying the last solemn message to a dying world must put away bitter envying and strife from the heart, for where they exist they bring disorder and every kind of evil work as a denial of the truth, belonging to a wisdom that is earthly, sensual and devilish and not from above. The opposite character required is works done with meekness of wisdom and the pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, merciful, fruitful, impartial and unhypocritical wisdom from above that sows righteousness in peace by peacemakers. This means having no divisions but seeing eye to eye in all religious belief, speaking the same things, being perfectly joined in the same mind and judgment, bearing the infirmities of the weak, walking in the Spirit, and being one in Christ as Christ is one with the Father. Contention and being drawn apart in judgment and opinions come when hearts and minds are not under discipline to God and Christ's yoke is not worn, when self rises up and men are offended because others do not think according to their opinions, and such division denies the oneness of Christ, is viewed with disapproval by the heavenly universe, and gives way only when the Lord is regarded as the great center bringing close connection between all lines of work with no divisions but mutual connection and dependence devoid of selfishness. Holding to self, insisting one's own course and words and reasoning are right without modification, carrying one's ideas against the judgment of the brethren, and refusing correction brings disaffection and lack of harmonious action.
Christ's servants must reject self-sufficiency, independence, unteachability and dictatorial mastery, for envy and strife bring confusion and every evil action and heavenly wisdom produces love and unity among God's workers. No one is to consider himself authority in all things, follow one man's mind and judgment as a shadow of any man, seek supremacy or rule, or refuse to learn from one another, but all are to make their own interests secondary, cherish active humility and true goodness, remain humble and teachable, and be willing to be entreated by brethren. True wisdom from above is teachable and easy to be entreated, softening and subduing hearts by the Spirit of Jesus, and God's workers as free moral agents are bound together to gather light from Him to reflect to others while gaining wisdom from men of experience, absorbing common sense from others' experience and education and casting aside what is not of value. Heavenly wisdom is given by God in answer to earnest prayer to everyone engaged in His work, and was seen when ministers of different languages gathered in council and earnest prayer was answered with the sweet spirit of Jesus drawing brethren near each other.
In a world of sin and strife and variance they must live as peacemakers advancing the work of God, showing wisdom by good conduct with meekness, putting away bitter feelings, criticism, harsh speech and wounding words that destroy, and doing nothing through strife or vainglory. Men called to save souls show this wisdom when selfish interests are swallowed up in deep concern and burden for the salvation of souls for whom Christ died, with sympathy and love of God and desire to strengthen the hands that hang down and confirm the feeble knees in place of gossip, censure and strife of tongues that dishonors God and brings dearth and feebleness into the church. The changed heart required is humble, courteous conduct marked by love, fairness, generosity, tenderness and compassion toward others, which are expressions of God's law and character and must be practiced in religious service, resisting a dictatorial or self-seeking spirit.
Peace gained by laying aside truth and the cross is not Christ's peace but a false and deceptive peace, for earthly, sensual, devilish wisdom is opposed to the pure and peaceable wisdom from above. A profession of truth or agreement with it in judgment alone does not make wisdom godly, for envy and strife reveal that truth has not been woven into the character and the person presents it in a way that reflects those wrong qualities, which is not Christian boldness but from the devil and not from God.
Every church member must learn through close self-examination in the light of the Word to do the essential work of cleansing the heart from self, pride and lust that cause wars and fightings, by submitting to God, resisting the devil, drawing nigh to God, cleansing the hands, purifying the double mind, and humbling the soul that God may lift up and give more grace. Instead of watching and accusing a brother or sister, magnifying supposed slights, questioning and finding fault with everything and every man's teaching, each person should examine his own life and whether he is in the faith, read the chapter carefully and criticize himself severely. An untamed tongue that talks too much, stirs up strife, kindles fire and enjoys the resulting evil breaks peace and harmony and makes war instead of meekness, so speech must be made select and well chosen, hasty harsh words that tear down, dictate, aggravate and keep variance between brethren must not be vindicated but confessed with pride conquered and soul humbled before God, supposed wrongs and old wounds healed at once by going directly to the one involved, joking, hilarity, strife and combativeness put away, and only words under the Holy Spirit that build up, soften and subdue spoken, with words and acts educated in carefulness and made the rule for forming character unto entire transformation. This truth must be carefully studied, considered, laid to heart and carried into daily life to be without fault before the throne of God and to carry out the ten commandments, bringing peace, wisdom, humbleness of mind and fruits unto righteousness when Christ is formed within, for yielding to passion instead of practicing Christ's meekness, patience and love brings harm and leads away from God.
A worker with quarrel in disposition and heart who stirs up strife and dissensions, demerits fellow ministers and gathers sympathizers while working on his own responsibility, builds obstructions so the truth means nothing to the receiver and sows envy and faultfinding instead of refining, elevating, strengthening and purifying the church, weakening and discouraging members and destroying the moral image of God in them and leaving self-love and high self-esteem upon the church. Such a worker cannot be trusted and should not be sustained in the ministry unless converted, and it is best for him to stop preaching and go into business, because continuing leads to apostasy and fall into the snare of Satan. Self-sufficient, envious, jealous and critical workers who manifest bitterness, dissension, pride, censoriousness and fault-finding are yielding obedience to Satan and holding communion with an evil spirit, not with Christ, and should not be tolerated in sacred work even if they have apparently accomplished some good, in contrast to humble, gentle, patient, forgiving and loving workers in whom the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace. Manifesting a jealous spirit with evil surmising reveals a characteristic of Satan and harbors a desire originating in him that hinders reaching the high standard of the Word and grieves the Spirit of God, and if continued in Satan works through those who hold it to spoil influence, so such characters cannot be afforded a place in the work and every worker must stand on the platform of eternal truth free from every satanic desire.