James 4:4
Thoughts from Meghan Fravel
Dive Deeper
“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
James 4:4
Behind the Scenes
Wow, these are pretty harsh words from James. There’s really no mistaking what he means here – these people were cheating on God. In the previous verses James is admonishing the Christian Jews scattered throughout the Roman Empire for their lust of things. They were fighting and quarreling, coveting and even murdering to get what they wanted from their neighbors – things of the world. Basically, they were succumbing to their fleshly desires and neglecting their spiritual lives. They were giving more attention to the worldly things around them than they were to God. And our God is a jealous god. He will not share our attention with anything.
We can’t be the bride of Christ and a mistress of the world. We cannot serve two masters. As it says in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” We want our cake and to eat it too. We want to have the salvation and blessings of our Lord and Savior, but we also want to pursue our own desires. We can get so blinded by our own desires that we miss the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing. We miss out on the blessing of working for the Kingdom.
The scattered Jewish Christians were beginning to look more and more like the world and less and less like Jesus. Their actions no longer looked like the faith they proclaimed to have. Does this sound familiar? In the “political correctness” of our world today, we too forget that we are to look different than the world. We are to walk, talk, and act differently than those who don’t know Jesus. While we are to be full of grace, we must not forget that there is also One Truth. And while it may sound and seem harsh to speak that truth, it is really the most loving thing we can do. You see, God doesn’t keep us from our fleshly desires because He’s a stick in the mud, He calls us out of those things because He knows how they ruin us and keep us from His best.
Make it Real
We know that we are not perfect and that the desires of our flesh are often very strong. We also know we have a very real enemy that is not flesh and blood that prowls around looking to steal, kill, and destroy. How do we combat this? How do we keep from becoming adulterers, keeping one foot in the world while proclaiming our faith and love of Jesus?
Look at James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you.” Do you see the action words here? Submit, resist, come! Who do we submit to? Our own carnal desires? No! We submit to God our Father.
Only through His power can we do the next action step – RESIST. The Greek word for resist is anthistemi. It actually has a much stronger meaning than merely resisting. It means to oppose, set oneself against. These are fighting words – to oppose someone is much more aggressive than just resisting. We are to oppose the enemy’s schemes, lies, and craftiness against us. We are to openly and aggressively come against our enemy. Then we can take the next action – come near to God. And there is no sweeter, safer, or more peaceful place to be than near to God!
When we submit, resist, and come near we can be victorious against our sinful nature. In Him, we can take advantage of every opportunity to experience Him even while we live in the world. We can confidently step into His will, serve Him, and reap His blessings. While we do have to be in the world, we certainly do not need to be of the world.
Colleen McGeorge
ACF Devo Team
End in Prayer
Father God, I don’t want to look like the world. I don’t want to be of the world. Lord, I want You and You alone, but my sin nature is so very strong. God help me to resist the enemy and submit to You. I know that Your ways are higher than my ways – that anything You ordain is so much better than I can ever imagine. Help me to walk confidently in what You are calling me to do and who You have purposed me to be. We love You Lord and thank You for giving us everything we need to live a full and abundant life in You. In the precious and powerful name of Your Son Jesus. Amen!