Your motives are all wrong ...
What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. [James 4:1-3 NLT]
These three verses scream motives to me - bad ones and good ones. On the bad side they speak to me of hedonism, the idea that is encapsulated by the phrases "if it feels good do it" and (on the religious side) "God wants you to be happy". This adventure in selfcenteredness is replete with jealous and envious motives. Interesting how James calls these "evil desires at war within you". Perhaps the first step in winning this war is to acknowledge our bad motives?
In contrast to these wrong motives is the God motive - love. Most of us can quote Jesus when he speaks of God so loving the world that He gave his one and only Son but I wonder if any of us really understands this sort of love? Perhaps, as James indicates, our prayer life can be viewed as an accurate barometer of where we are at with regard to motives. Are our prayers reflective of a deep love for others or are they more about ourselves? Food for thought.
Lord, I pray so much for myself and my needs. Help me to love others and pray more for the needs of others.
Humility that comes from wisdom ...
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. ... the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. -James 3:13,17-18 NLT
I believe that these two words, humility and wisdom, are inextricably linked. Firstly they are both qualities of the heart - you cannot have one without the other. One must have wisdom to be humble and many err by thinking that they can be wise apart from humility. In my life both of these have come with much difficulty because I did not understand the nature of wisdom or humility. Sadly I confused wisdom with intellect and humility with a gentle demeanor.
I love how James describes wisdom. He does not say that it is about your IQ but about your ability to yield to others and find common ground. Perhaps this is why the Lord Jesus called peacemakers blessed. It takes humility and wisdom to find peace - achieving it often means that one has to compromise. To make peace in small and great ways one must be full of the kind of mercy that results in good deeds. And such peace will one day reap a harvest of righteousness.
Dear Lord, we are proud. Help us to humble ourselves. We are foolish. Help us to be wise. Teach us the ways of peace.
A flame of fire ...
A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. ... Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! -James 3:5,6,9,10 NLT
James goes on from here to speak of how "you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring." In saying this he acknowledges that our words are often mere products of something that comes from deep within. In a sense, this tiny spark of fire comes from a raging fire that is burning within. I have witnessed such flames coming from my mouth. It reminds me of how the scriptures speak of reaping what we have sowed in the soil of our hearts.
Seeds sprout when we least expect it. Wounds buried in the depths of our beings surface with minor provocation - and people are burned with our flames. It speaks to me about how I need to keep my innermost being strong. To keep my spring clean I must acknowledge and confess my sins to God. To insure that fiery bitterness does not spew from my mouth I must forgive offences before they grab hold of me. It is an issue of being strong on the inside.
Lord, please show us how to keep our inner waters fresh and fit for others to drink.
Every time we open our mouths ...
We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life. A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything — or destroy it! -James 3:2-5 MSG
Describing 18th century Irish Parliamentarian Sir Boyle Roche a person remarked: "Every time he opens his mouth, he puts his foot in it." I sometimes feel that way. Sadly, I have said many things that I wished I could take back. The tongue, when provoked, can sometimes reveal things that we wish stayed hidden. Once the words leave our mouth we are helpless and unable to retrieve them. Many times I have had to ask forgiveness for my careless utterances.
I love the way that James likens our tongue to small things, like rudders and bits, that control big things. If he were living today he might describe the ways that steering wheels in the hands of pilots and bus drivers can affect many people. Our words have much power. The self image of a young child is molded by the things that parents say to them. The encouraging words of a friend can give courage to press on. Our words can accomplish great things.
Help us Lord to only speak words that bless. And when we sin with our words give us courage to seek forgiveness.
His actions made his faith complete.
Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. -James 2:21-26 NLT
That last verse speaks to me about the nature of faith in the life of a believer. Faith is the air that we breathe. It is what made Abraham, Rahab and everyone else right with God. Yet this kind of faith is not invisible in the sense that actions always accompany it and make it complete. The truth is that actions always follow faith or a lack of faith.
Consider those who Jesus considered great in faith. He called the centurion's faith 'great' when he believed God would heal his servant before Jesus even came under his roof. Or think about how he called 'great' the faith of a gentile woman who would not be refused when she asked for her daughter to be healed. Sometimes just the act of prayer is evidence of faith within. God called Abraham his friend because he acted in faith. We are his friends when we act in like manner.
We come in need of courage Lord. Help us to respond in the faith that you have planted deep within us.
Faith by itself isn’t enough ...
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? -James 2:17-20 NLT
Interesting how James speaks of faith not being enough when, in essence, it really is when it is the real thing. The issue that he speaks to here is counterfeit faith. Fake faith has always been with us. Many religious people know all the right things to say - they assent to God with their head but their hearts are simply not engaged. Sometimes knowing something with your head is simply not enough. Genuine faith is a matter of the heart and not of our own understanding.
The absurdity of demon-like believing reminds me that people often engage in religious activities for reasons other than faith. For sure many of these may have assented to a "Higher Power" and might speak of the "Man Upstairs". And often people with a bankrupt faith do good deeds. It speaks to me of how faith and works cannot stand alone. In truth, we are unable to know if another person has faith by simply looking at what they do. Only God can see our hearts.
Cause our hearts to embrace genuine faith today dear Lord. Transform us into people who are moved by compassion.
You have faith but don’t show it ...
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? -James 2:14-16 NLT
Interesting how James pivots from judging how a person treats the wealthy and to judging that person's faith by their actions. In these beginning chapters he seems to be interested in telling his readers what it really means to have a relationship with God. He tells us that having "pure and genuine religion" means having joy in trials, praying for wisdom, enduring temptation, caring for the helpless and keeping oneself unstained from worldly and ungodly thinking.
Now he appears to be distilling this genuine religion down to one word - faith. I love it how he defines the word as a force that has the ability to change the way we act. Instead of defining faith as something that causes us to love church services he tells us that it is something that causes us to love our neighbors. I think that genuine faith always produces love - and love is always shown in what we do. In essence James is speaking to us about both faith and love.
Help us Lord. It is so easy to keep our faith hidden. Lead us to be moved by compassion and to love our neighbors..
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