NOTES for Jam 3:18
The Epistle of James contains many such deep sayings, aphorisms, into which one must think carefully. "The fruit... is sown": that is, the point is the very beginning of the action of righteousness, the conditions in which righteousness can begin to act. "Righteousness" also includes "justice" and "rightness." How natural it is for us people to struggle, even fight, to prove that we are right and to achieve what we consider justice! And here Scripture restrains us: righteousness acts only through those who keep peace. Peace is not simply the absence of war, hatred, or fighting; peace is a very positive state of thoughts, feelings, and relationships that gain harmony and balance through reliance on the constant and unchanging love of God.