Charity Autry, Member since 2008, Sunday School Leader, Starting Point Leader, VBS Chair, sinner
James 4:1-6

1 What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  2You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.  You do not have because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

4You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?  Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.  5Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

                     “God opposes the proud

                     but shows favor to the humble.”

 Reflection: 

Ouch! Many times, when I write these devotionals, they are edited so I am not so direct. I do not think James was edited for his directness! It is simple: when you desire worldly things, you are “enmity”, or actively opposing God. You are sinning, you are “adulterous people”! Have you ever wanted for anything? Of course you have; it is human instinct. We want more possessions, money, a higher status, and praise. Sometimes we become very aggressive when trying to obtain these things, even to the point of harming other people.

Have you ever seen footage of a Black Friday sale? People are running over each other to grab sale items. We live in a world of envy and want, and we are all susceptible to it. The pop-up ads fill up our email and social media feeds. As I write this, an ad for the newest tennis shoe is flashing in the corner of my screen. Companies even use algorithms to find out what kinds of things you like, and present only ads for your favorite things. They know it is too hard for us to resist. The desire to want more is so easy in the world we live in today when everything is at our fingertips. Confession: I have made that midnight Instagram purchase. Is this a sin? 

No, the midnight Instagram purchase is not a sin. However, when we want for worldly things for the wrong reasons and run over our neighbors to get them, that’s a sin. Okay, maybe you don’t wake up at 4 a.m. on Black Friday to stampede over other shoppers in order to get the deals. I don’t either. But I have found myself jealous or angry at others who have more than I do. Not outright angry, but if I look internally, I see resentment and anger toward another person because of their possessions. Why do they deserve all of that? I work hard, I go to church, I give to my neighbors, I volunteer my time. Why not me? I know… not a great confession. But it’s still true, and we want to be truthful with ourselves if we want to grow. When our joy depends on “things” we will never be happy. In these moments of want, we can even begin to push God away.    

How do we not succumb to these worldly desires? Humility. Our self-centered view that we deserve whatever we want can drive a wedge between ourselves and our neighbors, and even between us and God. But when we humble ourselves to the understanding that God provides what we need, we can rely on God. And when we’re humbly relying on God’s provision, there is no need to trample our neighbors. This is where we find joy—not in the accumulation of things but in the blessing of living in love and harmony with one another. This is indeed true joy. 

Prayer:  

Thank you, God for my blessings.  I pray to allow the Holy Spirit to work within me when I stray and want for more.  I pray for your ever-loving grace to pull me back to you.   Thank you for being a God of grace and forgiveness. Amen.