James: Chapter 4

Desires of Our Heart

4:1

Wrong and evil desires! We are immediately told that the desires, or motives, of our hearts and minds influence both our feelings and actions. None of us like to admit that we have wrong, or even evil desires; yet we do! So, these fleshly desires cause us to act in ungodly ways that bring about arguments and fights. Ever insist that you want things YOUR way? Sure, we’ve all done that. And what is the result? Others are unhappy with our selfish, dictatorial, demands and actions. So, the end result is quarrels and fights; none of us like to be used and abused by others, and that is exactly what is being done to us when others act from wrong desires. Just because we FEEL like doing something, doesn’t mean it is right, or good. Remember, those ‘feelings’ come from those evil desires! These selfish, evil desires are in ALL of us! However, that doesn’t excuse us; we are to use our God given abilities to control those selfish desires; and develop character traits that reflect Jesus’ character. We must seek Wisdom from the Holy Spirit to know how to subdue those evil desires and replace them with desires that will be pleasing and honoring to God.

4:2-3

James goes on to tell us that we are jealous; coveting what others have. Thinking that somehow, we want, or must have, something that others have. Money, Home, Vehicle, Vacations, Clothes; and an endless list of Worldly possessions! You can fill in the blanks with THINGS that you WANT! How many of us foolishly think that “If only I had _____, I would be happy, or satisfied.”? We are delusional, lying to ourselves as nothing will truly satisfy us except being in the Will of God! So, those who desire what others have, often try to get them by some evil manner. Even resorting to murder, to obtain another person’s possessions. Well, you think, I would NEVER murder someone for anything!! So, James immediately reminds us that to be envious, angry, and hateful is the same as murder. Oh, oh, we are all in trouble! Then suddenly James tells us that we don’t have something because we have not asked for it. 3. OR, now James gets to our selfish, evil desires; we ask God for things with a wrong purpose, or motive. That would be a selfish, evil motive. We want something to simply satisfy our worldly sensual pleasures. Jesus clearly tells us what we should be concerned about and pray for. See Matthew 6:19-34. So, what are you seeking?

4:4

Adulterers and Adulteresses! Wow, James identifies these desires as not just UNFAITHFULNESS, but calls such desires ADULTERY! that seems a bit harsh and extreme to us; yet let’s think it over carefully. Moral unfaithfulness comes when a person is not satisfied, or content, with the husband or wife that they have. They may not even be conscious of the fact that they are eyeing other men or women with wrong desires. Yet, God warns us that we must GUARD our hearts, to be Pure and Holy, seeking what is good and honorable. We must cultivate an attitude of thankfulness and gratitude for our spouse; remembering that they are a gift from God. Are we the loving, kind, thoughtful, considerate, hardworking, and loving spouse that we should be? If not, then the problem may be us, not them. Or perhaps we have both failed and need to seek Jesus as the center of our lives. But notice that this goes beyond marital infidelity, to being morally unfaithful in our desires for worldly pleasures! Our attitude of being discontent with whatever we have, or the situation we are in, to the point to desiring worldly comfort ABOVE our desire for a holy and pure heart, is sin. So, James tells us that loving the world is HATING God! Remember, even Jesus called his generation a wicked and adulterous generation. Our current generation is even worse! See Matthew 12:39, and 16:4 We actually become God’s enemy! Since we really do not want to be God’s ENEMY, then we must rethink our priorities, our values, and the desires of our hearts.

4:5

James again reminds us that the scriptures warn us of our selfish fleshly envy. God has clearly told us that we should be desiring that which is good, honorable, kind, generous, loving… essentially seeking all the fruits of the spirit. If we seek those attributes, and character traits, in our lives, then the THINGS will lose their evil appeal to us. Even desiring another person, when you know it is immoral, is idolatry! Why? Because you put that person, or thing, before your love for God. Proverbs 21:10a The soul of the wicked desires evil. Our desires reveal the true nature of our very souls, our IDENTITY. This is a crucial point to understand, as our identity as a person, is our soul. So those who have a wicked soul have a wicked identity and are wicked persons; unable to EVER have a personal relationship with God; THEREFORE, they exclude themselves from all love, joy, glory, peace, happiness, honor, goodness, satisfaction, personal relationships; and all the other wonderful promises of God. Instead, they destroy their own soul, and at death, becoming evil forever; and will have the same end result as demons; HELL, and the LAKE OF FIRE; just as the demons are forever doomed to eternal agony and suffering, so will the wicked condemn themselves to eternal agony and suffering.

4:6

BUT HE GIVES GRACE! That is the gift of God that we ALL so desperately need. None of us want to condemn ourselves to eternal suffering, so we must humble ourselves and accept God’s gracious gifts of Mercy and Grace. He provides His Mercy and Grace to enable us to overcome those evil, selfish desires. We absolutely must humble ourselves to obtain His Grace; there is NO OTHER WAY! That is why James quotes from Proverbs 3:34, reminding us that God opposes the arrogant, but gives grace to those who are humble. To continue to seek our own selfish desires is ARROGANCE! Then when we bring disaster upon ourselves, we cry out for God’s mercy and grace! Are we seeing ourselves as Hypocrites and LIARS? We should because that is exactly what we are.

4:7

THEREFORE, as always, whenever we see this word, we should pay special attention as there is something very important the Holy Spirit is revealing to us. Submit and humble ourselves, our minds, and hearts to God through prayer. Seek the Holy Spirit’s Wisdom in dealing with our selfish desires. As we chose to obey the Will of God, we are taking a strong stand against our adversary, the devil. Will he flee immediately? Usually not, but as we continue to pray for power and strength from the Holy Spirit, and remove whatever is feeding our selfish desires, we will be given the strength to resist evil. Ask God to give you a godly desire, something that will bring Him honor and glory, and at the same time bring you peace and joy. Pray for others, seek to do good for someone else. As you direct your focus away from the selfish desires, they will diminish and be replaced with a new desire, in God’s Will, that will be far more satisfying, and truly bring glory and joy to God.

4:8

How do we come close to God? Draw near, that means we need to make an effort! Pray, read, study and apply His Word to our lives, just as you are doing right now! Then Pray again! We want to be close to Jesus; so we must confess our sinfulness, seeking God’s forgiveness as we repent of our evil desires. James tells us to clean our hands and purify our hearts. This means we are to stop doing evil things and seek God’s Will for our lives. This change in attitude will bring new and godly desires into our hearts and minds. None of us become godly overnight; it is a process called Sanctification. We know that it takes a lifetime. Yet, the more we seek God’s Will, the easier it becomes to avoid evil desires and thoughts. Fill your heart and mind with His Word. Memorize scriptures and they will become the desires of your heart. The Holy Spirit wants the VERY BEST for you ALL the time. So, seek God’s Will and you will receive His VERY BEST!

4:9-10

If you are struggling with true and honest repentance, James clearly tells you that you must grieve and be sorrowful over your evil desires. You must honestly and sincerely seek to rid your heart, mind and soul of those worldly sinful desires that bring nothing but grief, destruction and evil to yourself and others. 10. As we humble ourselves before our God, seeking His forgiveness, healing and restoration, He will give it to us. Will it happen instantly? Usually not, we need to continually seek to turn away from those evil desires and feelings. Yet continue to trust God, He loves you with an Eternal Love, and will give you the strength to overcome those evil desires and feelings. We must persevere!

4:11-12

‘Brothers’, James is obviously speaking to fellow Believers; clearly telling us we are not to speak any evil words, even if it’s True, about another person. Why? Because as we speak evil of a fellow Believer, we are, in effect, judging that person. We are NOT the Judge and Jury of anyone! We do not know ALL the circumstances, nor do we know the intent of another person’s heart. 12. James reminds us that there is only One Lawgiver ~ God! And there is only One who is both able to save and to destroy! You and I know that God Almighty is the ultimate Lawgiver and Judge of ALL men. So, in effect we try to usurp God’s authority when we arrogantly judge others. Gossip, slander, repeating evil words, all these evil words from our mouths, fall into this category. Our tongues, once again, get us into trouble and sin, and bring suffering to others!

4:13-14

This ‘come now’ is more like “Pay careful attention!” You people who say we will do this, or that, go here or there, all to make a profit. Clearly, we are instructed to plan for the future, but to seek God’s wisdom and guidance, in all we do, so that whatever ‘we plan’ is really God’s Will and Plan for our lives. 14. Why should we seek God’s Will? Simple, we don’t know the future. An unforeseen catastrophe could occur at any time, changing our situation so drastically, that even carefully laid plans and investments, can become disastrous. Accidents, illness, disastrous weather, war, pandemics, or even the mere possibility of war and widespread pandemics, can trigger Stock market crashes, loss of jobs, loss of basic necessities of life, utilities, water, electricity, medical provisions, communication disasters, the list goes on and on. Some of us have even recently experienced these! James reminds us that our very lives could end in a moment; we are like a vapor, that may appear for just a very short time, and then just disappear.

4:15-16

So, in effect, this is such an important FACT of life, that we should carefully consider that ‘our’ plans should really only be God’s Plans. James carefully warns, and tells us, that we are to rely on, and Trust God for EVERYTHING, EVERY SINGLE DAY! We should pray first, then plan, with spiritual wisdom and insight, about whatever it is we are doing in life. Does this mean we need to consult God about what to wear, eat, say, etc.? Well, in effect, YES! We need to be tuned in to God’s Word and perspective, that whatever, we DO, SAY, or even THINK, would bring Him Glory, Honor and Praise. Only then, can we know that we are in His Will. 16. Yet, most of us conduct our lives, under the foolish delusion that we are in control! Nothing could be further from the Truth! God is in control, has always been in control, and thankfully, will always be in control. He allows us to operate and function as human beings, with the ability to think and make decisions and choices; clearly showing us that the BEST choices, will only be those that are IN HIS WILL! So, what do we do? Most of us flounder through life, trying to make life choices on our own, rather than seeking God’s Will for the BEST choices. Remember, for 100% of the choices you make, you are the one who made the choice! So those ‘poor life choices’ that brought you pain, suffering and hardship, were probably choices you made without God. Making life decisions our way, rather than consulting God, is called BOASTING. This Boasting is always evil. Proverbs 27:1-2.

4:17

The quick summary is simple: Now that you know what to do to do good, and yet, you do not do it, then that is SIN. So, is it a sin, not to consult God for your life decisions? James says it is. Think about it, why in the world would we go on making life decisions without consulting God and His Word in prayer? Because we cling to Arrogance and Boasting, both of which are evil attitude decisions! A decision to continue in this manner will continue to bring you ultimate failures in life, pain, and suffering. So, make a firm commitment, RIGHT NOW, to consult God, and His Word, through prayer, for ALL your life decisions. That is the wisest choice you can make to receive God’s very Best for you. After all, God knows what the BEST for you is, and He can guide you into making wise, godly decisions.

Our Life Choices determine the direction and quality of our lives. Each day brings us new opportunities to make godly Life Choices. Only a fool would continue to make choices that bring them sorrow, suffering and pain. So, be wise, Pray, consult God’s Word, seek His Will for your life, and make God-guided Life Choices that will bring you the VERY BEST God has for you! Not sure how to follow God? Then take the time to study these chapters again, looking up each scripture, and praying God’s very Word into your life. God will give you the Wisdom you need, as you obey Him.