"'Let him who is wise and learned among you show from his good way of life the result int he meekness of wisdom.' (James 3:13) Because he had imposed silence on wicked teachers and had forbidden to hold the rank of teacher those whom he beheld having neither perfection of life nor restraint of tongue, subsequently he advises that if anyone among them may be, or may appear to himself to be, wise or learned, let him show his learning more by living wisely and according to learning than by teaching others. For he who brings about the good which he can with a meek heart and a well-controlled mouth certainly gives plain evidence of a wise mind. For, 'The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord.' (Pr. 9:10) But someone who is more prone to preaching the word than to doing it very often through love of boasting, through eagerness for strife, through skillfulness of eloquence, through envy of other teachers, through ignorance of the catholic truth, incurs guilt for his foolishness. To him is well suited that saying of Solomon that 'Where there are many words, there is often need.' (Pr. 14:23) Hence even here there is also proper added [James 3:14]" - Bede the Vererable, Commentary on James 3:13
"'But if you have bitter zeal and strife in your hearts, do not glory.' (James 3:14) He says 'bitter zeal,' because there is also a sweet zeal by which even the apostle Simon deservedly received the name of a perfect heart, (Lk. 6:15) which Elijah also had when he said, 'I have been greatly zealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the sons of Israel have forsakenyour covenant,' (1 Ki. 19:10) as did the apostle Paul; 'For I am jealous of you,' he says, 'with the jealousy of God.' (2 Cor. 11:2) There is also a good kind of strife which the Lord orders us to have, saying, 'Strive to enter through the narrow gate.' (Lk. 13:24) 'Do not glory,' he says, 'and be liars against the truth,' (James 3:14) because truth itself proves that they are not worthy of glory who, bringing forth words of wisdom from their mouth, bear bitter zeal and eagerness for unfruitful strife in their heart." - Bede the Venerable, Commentary on James 3:14
"'For where there is zeal and strife, there also is instability and every perverse work.' (James 3:16) 'With all care,' he says, 'keep your heart, for from it life proceeds.' (Pr. 4:23) For all the fruit of action is in the sight of the internal arbiter of the same sort as the root of the heart, and every work of the person who has concealed the wickedness of envy or strife in his heart is warped, however straight he may appear to men to be, on account of the instability of his mind wavering this way and that because it has neglected to attach itself to the one anchor of the heavenly vision." - Bede the Venerable, Commentary on James 3:16
"'But the wisdom from above is, first of all modest, then peaceful, restrained, docile, in agreement with what is good.' (James 3:17) This is the 'meekness of wisdom' (James 3:13) which he instructed above that we should have, opposed certainly to the zeal of bitterness and foolish strife; by it the virtue and teaching of holy preachers are in turn joined together in the peace of charity and concord. 'First,' he says, 'it is modest, then peaceful,' modest because itunderstands modestly, yet peaceful because through pride it seperates itself very little from the cmopany of its neighbors. 'Restrained,' indeed, 'docile,, in agreement with what is good,' because surely it behooves a wise man to give assent to the persuasion of the good--as Peter, though agitated, bowed to Paul's rebuke (Acts 15:1-30; Gal. 2:11-14)--but to reject with one's entire effort, either by teaching or living, the teaching of the wicked. 'Full of mercy and good fruits.' (James 3:17) This is also the good way of life which above (James 3:12) he advised the wise and learned to show, namely, by being merciful in mind manifesting outwardly the fruits of that same mercy through works of devotion. 'Judging without pretense.' (James 3:17) The more modest wisdom personally makes use of this virtue, the more it utterly lacks a blasphemous and contentious wisdom. For it is very necessary for anyone who wants to appear more learned and more perfect than others to work at being able to correct his neighbor artfully, as if he were less keen-witted [than himself[, and also that he may sometimes deceitfully pretend to have done or said those things to which he is a stranger." - Bede the Venerable, Commentary on James 3:17
"'Why are there wars and quarrels among you? Are they not from this?' (James 4:1), that is, from zeal and contentiousness which he had foridden above? (James 3:14) So also here in explaining the same thing more extensively, he goes on, saying, 'From your lusts that war in your members.' (james 4:1) Lusts war in our members when the hand or the tongue or a combination of the other members immoderately obeys those things which a base mind perversely suggests; concerning this he says in the earlier part of this Letter, 'each one, in fact, is tempted, drawn on and lured by his own lust,' (James 1:14), and so on..." - Bede the Venerable, Commentary on James 4:1