Submission Of The Will (2001)

SUBMISSION OF THE WILL

Text: James 4:1-7

There is in British history a war that has a title that is just as ridiculous as its cause. It is called the War of Jenkins’ Ear. This war began back in 1739. It started out as a trade war between Spain and England. There was a treaty that restricted the way that the British would trade with Spanish colonies in America. The British tried to circumvent the rules as they began smuggling. Robert Jenkins, a captain of Rebecca (a ship), was one of those smugglers. He refused to surrender his cargo to the Spaniards when they boarded his ship. They in turn cut off one of his ears. Later, Robert Walpole, a self declared (Britain’ first prime minister) Prime Minister under King George II, declared war over this incident. It became known as The War of Jenkins’ Ear. It had transpired from a trade war into an actual war that became part of a bigger war, The War of Austrian Succession. Not long after that, Walpole resigned. Imagine that! A war started over on ear. We know that there was more to it than that with the trade wars as the base. But, it is almost funny.

This story relates to something that the book of James in the New Testament was talking about. James 4:1-2 points out that wars ---conflict start within the individual and have the potential to transpire into something more as it can become a war between people.

THE CAUSE OF CONFLICT

Conflict starts within the individual.

The cause of internal conflict of individual people arises from the need to gratify the self. I once sat on the waiting room of the Datsun dealership in Spartanburg while I was waiting for my car to get fixed. I do not remember how the subject cam up, but I got involved in conversation with another fellow who was also waiting for his car. As we were conversing, he mentioned that if there were two babies and one bottle in a crib, that there would be a fight. He was right.

Conflict within can transpire into conflict without.

The story about the two babies and the one bottle is an example of that. But, it is also true that violence originates from this same idea. Violence is a breach of conduct. Violence can be as simple as a fight over who won the game or something as complex as murder.

The cause of conflict without is the result of not having what one wants. James points out that killing and coveting is the worse case scenario of not having what one wants. Remember Cain and Able in Genesis 4? Cain killed Able because he wanted God’s approval of his offering. God was pleased Able because he obeyed and displeased with Cain because he did not obey.

FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD

The world has a view of life and living that is in opposition to what the Christian faith upholds.

The King James Version of the Bible uses the word lust in both James 4: verse 1 and verse 3. The Greek word for lust is hedone which means to seek to gratify the sinful nature of the flesh. It is interesting that to note that there have been commercials on tv for NIKE that say “If it feels good, do it”. NIKE might have labeled this concept in terms of athletics, but in reality the hedonistic philosophy has always been in the world. But, at the same time it tends to be self –centered or cliquish. It is that kind of thinking that leads to discrimination and what we would call a rank and file mentality. That lifestyle is dangerous because it creates the grounds for conflict. It is the kind of mentality that lives by the creeds of us and them.

The world also has a view that upholds that every man is for himself.

Although Darwin might have given the behavior a label survival of the fittest, that behavior has always been a round. Survival of the fittest is a way of thinking that says that that the weak do not have a place because they are not fit. That same way of thinking is what leads to the mentality of approving of something that is unacceptable in God’s eyes. People might say that survival of the fittest of a way of life among the beasts of the jungle. True, it is a way of life among the beasts of the jungle. But, God created humanity to be stewards of the earth. That order means that we are supposed to be intelligent as well as apply our intelligence. Therefore, we are to live above the laws of the jungle because God created us that way (Genesis 1:29-30).

The world also holds a view that glory is for the self.