This Means War

An Exposition on the Book of James Part 15

If you haven’t yet, please check out part 1 of this series. The ideas of James are all centered around the idea of a perfectly forged faith that makes us perfect.

Proverbs tells us that “…Only by pride cometh contentions.” What I believe this means is that the only reason why people fight is that they think they are better than someone else or deserve to be treated better than they had been. My mom used to say, “The true test of a servant is when you act like one when treated like one.” James takes a slightly different approach to fighting and contentions – although in the end, it is the same culprit: pride.

James starts chapter 4 by addressing the wars and fighting among his audience, predominantly saved Israelites scattered throughout the world. He does not come to the conclusion that pride causes all conflicts, though ultimately, it does; the ideas of this chapter are that lusts – or desires – that war in your members. There are two ways that this could be understood, and I think both bring one to the same point in the end.

A runner who has the intention of running a long-distance marathon must train. If he is like most people, he does not have an endless amount of time to just run, so he must wake up early or make time in places that require him to miss out on other things. Sometimes, he wakes up and says, may head hurts – I’m not running today, or its too cold outside, I might get sick if I run today. These might be valid reasons for not running, but his desire to be comfortable or not sick outweighs his desire to run well in the race to come.

Another way to see this is that James is talking to many assemblies. He knows who his letters are going to, and he understands the structure of the churches. The members of that church all have desires because we are all humans. Some of us like the outdoors, some of us hate it. Some people like to run, others do not. In a church setting, though, our desires to see our way carried out are a form of pride and often cause wars and fighting. We think that only three songs should be sung before a message, and if we happen to sing four, it would cause a stir.

Either way, these wars come because we have elevated – in pride – our desires over God’s desires. A perfect example of the opposite is Jesus. He came to do the will of his father. He did not ever press his desires – They were always in perfect harmony with God. Of course, Jesus is God, and therefore his desires must be God’s desires, but the fact remains that he always placed his will under God’s. The only time this caused wars and fighting was when people around Jesus did not submit their desires to God. Think of that fateful evening in the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ was taken to be tried. Peter had not spent all night in prayer and yielding his desires to God, as Jesus was trying to teach them and demonstrate for us. What happened – Peter was ready for war, but Jesus was ready to surrender.

We must learn the discipline of yielding our wills to Christ – and this requires humility. Read Philippians 2 for a great picture of Christ’s humility.

James leaves the point of warring to describe the lust of his audience. “Ye lust – or desire – but have not…” Eyes full of covetousness and not contentment. Paul said that whatever state he was in, he was content to so be. Why can we not, as born-again believers, come to a place of contentment with Christ? I think it is because we desire things that are not Christ. Paul said that he counted everything he had achieved as dung so that he might win Christ. That is what we should be striving for. “…Ye kill,” says James, “and desire to have, and cannot obtain:” You know the old saying you cannot have your cake – that is to preserve it – and eat it too. I believe James is not talking about killing people for their possessions – although that may fit here as well; I believe he is talking about a herd animal or something. He is saying you want to be full now by killing the animal and eating it, but after you eat it, you are not satisfied and still desire to have. You want the best of both worlds. And here James brings in the point of prayer: “Ye have not because ye ask not.” And when you do ask, he basically says, it is only to get your desires filled instead of trying to find the desires of God.

When was the last time that you prayed for someone else to get their way? When have you approached the throne of God because you knew your heart was desiring something that opposed your friend or, worse, your God, and you asked God, “Lord not my will be done, but thy will be done.” When was the last time that you were hurt by someone or something, and you said, “Let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, thy will be done?”

Are we not called to emulate our Savior? Was this not the burden he carried to Calvary for us? Whose burden are you trying to bear for another? Or, are you approaching God’s holy throne with covetous lust and saying “give me, give me, give me” like a bratty little child?

The harsh reality is that when we approach God with the end goal of getting our desires met, we are committing a grave and terrible sin. James calls us “Adulterers and adulteresses.” This is spiritual idolatry and infidelity! “The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy.” All we like sheep have gone astray and turned everyone to his own way – that is the old man that Paul so diligently fought against. We are ever self-willed people! We must learn to cast all things, yea, even our own desires, at the foot of the cross and only stand up when we have been filled with his desires! It is a continual battle! We must cast off the old and put on the new.

The world says, “Be an individual, find your own path, go your own way, do what feels right, follow your heart.” God says, “Follow me, learn of me, desire me, submit your will to mine, and find my heart in all matters.” Who are you going to listen to? The first way means warring with God, the second means warring with self. Either way – this means war!

James 4:1-5 KJV

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

S.T.
Acts 20:24 
"But none of these things move me..."

Edited 1.24.26