The Heart of the matter
James 4:1-10
For the past couple of months we have had a sort of strange schedule. We have been in and out of the book of James. While we have been moving through James it is still a topical kind of study.
There is an over all flow that I call teaching on “faith that works” and generally James is only topic is faith however, faith is such a big topic is has many - many sub topics. The book of James is a resource when ever we are struggling with issues of faith.
James started with explaining that believers should have joy at all times. Joy is easy when things are good but, bad situations are hard our faith reminds is that this life is temporary. The promises that God gives us are promises in the eternal. James teaches us that our faith is something that we apply to our lives. We are expected to live God’s tag line of “Just do it.” We have also been told that favoritism of one person or another is bad, that we should not exalt or favor to the exclusion on anyone. So, rich or poor should be welcomed in a balanced manner. James teaches that Words, stuff we do as a church and individuals is a way of affirming our faith.
Works expose our faith to the people that see us. Works are not a means of salvation or even a maintence program to help us keep our salvation. They are an outward sigh of the faith we hold.
The book of James is a good resource is you are struggling with your faith….One thing that seems odd. He does not stress what your faith is to be in as much as helping his readers then and now to have a way of evaluating our faith and in a way giving us a measuring stick to help us to examine our progress.
-- In our different examinations of faith so far, we have found James to be very direct in his teaching. He steps on our toes and puts pressure on our hearts as he challenges our faith and how it measures up.
The end of chapter three speaks of two kinds of wisdom, earthly and heavenly. Earthly wisdom is generated my what we think and is self-centered and envious while heavenly wisdom comes from God and brings peace and love. While there is a chapter break the subject of earthly wisdom is continued in today’s scripture.
James asks, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?”
We don’t know if he is responding to a personal knowledge of the people in those foreign lands or to a letter of some kind. It is good that things are so different today that people in the church don’t fight because we have matured in our relationship with God through Jesus. Right…? It may be that James is speaking to people that never really change, that when ever people group together fights and quarrels are inevitable.
Doesn’t that sound cynical?
Unfortunately, we all know it is true. Any culture that can fill the daily TV schedule with shows like Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Jerry Springer and constant attorney advertising is a culture filled with fights and quarrels.
But, that is the culture in general and has nothing to do with us Christians.
-- I am sure Christians families fight less..right?
Maybe I need to pause and tell you that no matter what we would like to be true….Christian people, Christian families and Christian churches do have fights and quarrels. As I understand it many times they can be quiet bad.
James being a realist, and knowing what people are like is calling for an examination of fights and quarrels within a faith community; for our purpose, a church.
This part of the book suggests that disagreements need to be evaluated before they become fights and arguments. James seems to want us to question where our disagreements really come from.
He asks, “Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight.”
He describes human nature. We don’t get what we want, what we think should happen so we go on the attack. Fortunately, we only kill our opponents with angry words. Occasionally the tactics it to talk to everyone around the subject building a private army, some might even say back-stabbing.
Disagreements are normally centered around power and control. Getting our own way with little regard to what is actually best for a majority or a right thing to do.
In our different examinations of this book James has called us readers to examine our selves our motives. He has called us to take action and to call on God to help us to grow in our faith and relationship with God.
In this set of verses he is telling us that fights and quarrels are a manifestation of a deeper problem. Internal struggles between earthly wisdom, earthly desires and heavenly wisdom, the desires of God.
Fights come from wanting want we want, want we thing is right and wrong, what we think is important to the highest level and being willing to press for and even fight for what we want.
That kind of desire makes us critical of other people. That kind of thinking is evidence of a feeling of superiority over the people we are involved with.
The willingness to fight (word in scripture means physical) is a sign that earthly wisdom is winning control over a person’s or a group’s hearts and minds.
James is saying that pride, is the heart of the problem, the feeling of superiority over others and the need to control a situation or a person gives us a passion to want to insist we are right. It is a manifestation of unhealthy pride.
What is wrong with pride?
Pride does not allow a person to know his or her own needs or see their own faults.
Prideful people cherish their independence and don’t need anyone..not even God.
Pride makes people unable to see their own sins and therefore unable to repent and seek help.
Ultimately pride in ourselves leads people to act selfishly to get what they want, it becomes a passion, it becomes an obsession that dominates their minds.
Let me be a bit more specific, it does not have to be for our direct benefit for it to be selfish. It just has to be what we want to happen or not happen. It is something that we want to see happen so much that we scheme and push to make it come true.
James’ direct perhaps shocking approach seems to hope for the reader start a quick self examination of their motives. If they are not in a quarrel perhaps one can be avoided.
James offers a simple explanation for how something like this can happen to people of faith.
He says, “You do not have, because you do not ask God.”
James has previously explained that if we want wisdom we need to ask God for it. When God gives us wisdom it will bring peace and unity as a side effect. Heavenly wisdom helps us in several ways, it us peace to deal with disagreements and love the control our desires for the benefits of others.
I mentioned that Christians and churches do have fights and arguments. When they do there is a good chance that some involved in the fight have failed to ask God about the situation.
Why don’t people ask God? Is it because we think God will say no? Or is the real problem one of self-dependence and pride. It is much easier to make up our minds about a subject and to hold to a personal point of view if we don’t have to try to consider what God might want in a particular situation.
Folks when we fail to ask God for wisdom in any situation we are guilty of putting our wisdom and desires ahead of God’s. We assume that we can do it on our own.
Unhealthy pride separates us form other people and it separates us from God.
Up until this point in the book, James has referred to his readers as brothers and sisters. Now he suddenly he makes a change in tone.
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?”
Adulterous people….that should get your attention.
James is trying to get the readers attention so that we will realize that when we allow worldly wisdom and desires to influence us we are cheating in our relationship with God.
When we leave God out of our thinking and decisions and allow our hedonism – our self indulgence, desires, our passion to guide us.
We make ourselves an enemy to God. Because our actions and desires ignore a need and dependence on God.
He quotes a proverb (3:34) "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
Folks, when we argue in church, or at home and have not involved God in our discussion… we are acting in opposition to God.
That is heavy.
That is profound.
That is scary.
I don’t know about you but, I am guilty of this a lot more often that I want to admit.
I don’t want to do that. I have enough problems without making God my enemy and as I consider my problems….there is a good chance that many of them are there because, I chose sides without asking God.
How can I learn to do better…?
Good old James does not leave us out on a limb.
He offers is a list of steps. I like check list. I like to have simple step by step plans to help me get my work done.
Here is James’ list for us:
First he says to submit to God. Submit…That is a mental decision to involve God in every aspect of your life. It is reminding yourself that god is in charge of everything and is not your servant. You are His. I never said the list was easy just helpful.
Second, Resist the devil – if you resist…then the devil will flee…God’s wisdom..God’s involvement is more than the devil is willing to deal with. When you look first to God in every decision, every choice the temptation offered by the world will become easier to avoid. The devil will back off.
Third, Come near to God and He will come near to you. We come near to God when we remember our place in God’s order of things. We come near to god when we wash the outside and grieve and morn how we have separated ourselves from him by our pride and independence and cry out to our creator for his help and direction.
We move nearer to God when we devalue our personal success and joy because we realize how short lived they will ultimately be.
James is not telling the readers to only live a doom and gloom life. He is telling his readers to not depend on our ability to bring laughter and joy but, to allow God to fill your life with His version.
He says to “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Humble yourself by recognizing the difference of position between ourselves and God.
Humility that James is stressing is that we recognize that we are not independent of God.
The words Christian and humility are constantly linked. Any time we think we are good at either one we need to recognize that we have probably to some degree failed at both.
The problem we have with humility is that we think we are to consider ourselves to be the lowest from of life on this planet some where below a slug and the earthworm. But that is not true. We are not the lowest and never will be in God’s eyes.
Humility is coming to an understanding of who and what we are in comparison to God and to other people.
Quotes:
If I only had a little humility, I would be perfect. ~Ted Turner
We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glowworm. ~Winston Churchill
“Humility is Pride in God.” - Austin O’Malley
It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
- Saint Augustine
“Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all.” - William Temple
-- James tells us to lower ourselves to evaluate ourselves and our motives….. to humble ourselves before God and He will raise us up.
Folks the message from James is pretty simple when we boil it down.
We can live with earthly wisdom and understanding guiding our thinking. We can allow the world to influences us and tell us what is best and give us joy and satisfaction. We can allow our pride and abilities to decide what is right and worth fighting for.
Or we can submit ourselves to God in every situation. We can humble ourselves and our desires to be directed by his wisdom and receive peace and joy as he raises us up and helps us to understand our place in His kingdom.
Are you an enemy of God? How is that working for you?
Maybe you are not sure either way. James tell us that if we want peace and real joy we need to submit ourselves to God’s wisdom by examining where we are and moving closer to God. He is the creator, the judge and the source of wisdom that will give us peace and joy and unity. He invites us to approach him so that he can raise us up.
All Glory be to God.
