James 4:1-3

Passage

From what source are the serious conflicts and bitter clashes in you?  Is it not from this – out of your physical pleasures that are engaging in warfare in your members?  You all lust and do not have.  You murder and covet and are not powerful enough to acquire what you seek.  You clash bitterly and conflict seriously.  You do not have because you do not ask.  You all ask and do not receive because you ask wickedly in order that you all should spend in your physical pleasures.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Unfortunately, I think as James writes this letter he is writing to more churches throughout time than would care to admit it.  Sure, James is writing this to an intended audience, but I think there is truth in the situation to which James speaks in every church that has existed.  Are there not bitter clashes in every church?  Is there not serious conflict in every church?  Does not every church have the person or two that everyone knows will object to any idea that isn’t their own?

What does this say about the power of scripture if the problem that James is addressing here is likewise in most congregations across the world?  What does it say about humanity that even churches have conflict?

Second Thought:

James makes the case that ultimately our internal conflict comes out of our personal desires.  We want; we fight for what we want.  When someone comes along and wants something else, we fight even harder against the person whose desire conflicts with our own.  We see what others get and believe we should have the same.  Yet when we have more than others we are loathe to share.  We are willing to take and receive from others, yet we will protect and guard what is ours so that we don’t lose anything.  It is sad to say, but often these kinds of conflicts feel like war – even within the church!  As James says in the end, we do not have because we would simply spend what God would give to us on our own physical pleasures!

Why are we as human beings so focused on what our eyes covet and our minds conceive?  Why does this inherently set us up for conflict within our communities – even communities of faith?

Third Thought:

This topic is a natural extension from the last few days of study.  It really all begins with ourselves and how much we make life about ourselves.  So often conflicts among us happen because we don’t take time to discern God’s will and instead simply fight for that which makes the most sense from our own perspective.  This is a great time to pause and recap some of the lessons that we’ve learned in James.  Our tongue is a deadly weapon.  Listening may be one of the most important skills in life and in leadership.  Pausing to discern and listen to God is vitally important.  We must learn to treat people based on their inward character rather than on their outward appearances.  All of these lessons speak to this issue we find here in the closing chapter of James.  In summary, it really is all about humble submission.  Humble submission leads us to set our agenda aside, to listen to God, to listen to one another, and to move forward according to God’s will.

How do these verses help you understand why submission is such an important part of the Christian church?  Why is submission an important concept in culture in general?  Do you think the culture in which you live has a problem with submission?  Does the culture in which you live have a problem with conflict as James seems to be describing in this chapter?

Passage for Tomorrow: James 4:4-6