“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.”
(James 3:13 ESV)
Our profession is centered around information, and one could say that a step above information is wisdom. “Wise and understanding” are two adjectives coupled together to see truth with its application. I really like how one commentary on James describes it: “Understanding has seen how good wisdom in action is and knows why wisdom is good.” [1] Many people would prefer to just be told what to do (i.e., given a list of dos and don’ts). I think James shows that it just does not work that way, because if you know why a certain choice is right or wrong, you will be much better equipped to make the right choices in a broader context.
Wisdom is addressed throughout the Epistle of James. In James 1:5, the readers are admonished to ask God for wisdom, and the wisdom we ask of God is godly wisdom. “Earthly, unspiritual, demonic” wisdom produces bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, and every evil thing (James 3:14-16). Godly wisdom (i.e., “wisdom from above”) is distinct from worldly wisdom (v. 17-18). The wise and understanding person recognizes the difference between godly wisdom and worldly wisdom by what each of them produces.
In James 2:18, the readers are exhorted to show evidence of faith by works. In the same way, we see in James 3:13 (see above) a command to show that you are wise and understanding by good conduct. Deeds are the specific actions that good behavior produces, but the way in which actions are done is at least as important as the actions themselves. Works that show evidence of godly wisdom are done with meekness, or gentleness. Meekness is not weakness, but strength under control. To summarize, earthly wisdom is characterized by selfish ambition and disorder, but godly wisdom is characterized by humility and peace.
In the world, pride is seen as a positive thing, but that is not God’s way. Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition are rooted in pride and lead to arrogance, which is the opposite of what pleases God. Humankind has always wanted to go its own way, but God’s way is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality or hypocrisy. These are not specific actions, but character traits that are seen in what we do and how we relate to others. Wisdom knows how to listen without judging for the purpose of doing good and making peace—it sounds a lot like a reference inquiry! As librarians, depending on our context, we may have to be discerning about how much we express that this is a biblical principle. As Christians, we must still demonstrate godliness regardless of the setting. Listening carefully to understand where people are coming from and what they are asking for is foundational to librarianship, and it corresponds directly to the “meekness of wisdom”—and “against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:23).
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[1] Kurt A. Richardson, James, The New American Commentary, v. 36, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1997), 162.
David Wayne Dunkerton
David is a Librarian at Appalachian Bible College in Mount Hope, WV. He has been an ACL member since 2011.