Wise and Otherwise
James 3: 13 – 4:3
Intro: A minister, a Boy Scout, and a computer expert were the only passengers on the small plane. The pilot came back to the cabin and said that the plane was going down but there were only 3 parachutes and 4 people. The pilot said, “I should have one of the chutes because I have a wife and three small children. So he took one and jumped. The computer whiz said, “I should have one because I am the smartest man in the world and everyone needs me. So he took one and jumped. The minister turned to the Boy Scout and with a sad smile said, “You are young and I have lived a rich life, so you take the remaining chute and I’ll go down with the plane.” The Boy Scout said, “Relax, Pastor, the smartest man in the world just picked up my knapsack and jumped out.” OTHERWISE
I. James 4: 1 – “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
A Entitlement – when people feel the world owes them something without having to do anything to earn it.
B children – designer fashions, TVs, cook dinner and children don’t like it; cook something else. Hand out trophies to every kid on the team.
C Impact of entitlement:
1) debt
2) inappropriate priorities
3) laziness without responsibility
4) blame others without accountability
5) failure to be wise – to live as Christ commands.
II. James 4: 3-4 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you have on your pleasures. We must be Wise.
A. James tells us how to be wise. Have a humble spirit and submit to God. Submission is an attitude that desires to obey
B The word used here for SUBMIT TO GOD is a military term that means “to get in proper rank.” When we desire our own pleasures more than the will of God, we are not acting wisely.
C The evidence of God-given wisdom in the lives of individuals includes being gentle of humble, being pure, peaceable, willing to yield, full of mercy and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.
Concl: James tells us the one cannot embrace both God and the world’s system if we want to be considered wise. We must chose. You either align your life with God or the world. The choice is yours. You cannot do both.
