Humility in Relationships in the Body (James 4:11,12)

Here James continues to address the themes of unity in the community, humility as a creature of the Creator, and taking care in how we use our speech. The command here is to not “speak evil” against one another. Some people are confused by the use here of “judge” where there are other clear passages in the New Testament where churches are called to discipline and correct members who continue in sin. (Even James will talk about this later in chapter 5.) 

Some translations use the English, slander, here. That is a good choice and gets to the heart of the matter. What James is calling for here is for church members to refrain from speaking ill of each other. This does not prohibit a genuine concern leading to warnings or calls for repentance. But even there, great care must be exercised. We need wisdom in our interactions. But above all, we need to act in love. When James talks about speaking against a brother being tantamount to speaking against the law, it recalls his discussion earlier of the “royal law” in chapter 2. 

So, the way of the spiritual worldview—the true wisdom—involves the humility of “God is God and I am not” as well as a humility in our relationships with other. But there are at least four other characteristics of the life lived by true wisdom…