Wisdom Lived Out
You quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God James 4:2-4
This letter of James has a recurring three-fold theme: compassion, words and holiness (wisdom lived out). In 1:18 James introduced us to a God of compassion, to His words of truth and His holy purpose.
He then applied the three areas to a believer’s life showing our need for a controlled tongue, a caring ministry and a holy life (1:27).
These three themes are then expanded through the rest of the letter: 2:1-26 develops the theme of a caring ministry; 3:1-12 a controlled tongue and 3:13 – 5:6 a holy life, which is where we find ourselves with our present text.
James was adamant: friendship with the world is hatred toward God. The term the world here means the way the world behaves, the pattern of life, what drives it to do the things it does. The world can wear us down until we find ourselves drifting with it, numb to what’s happening.
God calls us to humble ourselves under His Sovereign hand (4:6,7) but the world arrogantly tells us to go after whatever we want, even if it means breaking the rules.
James sees the cure for the world’s pull: submit to God and resist the devil (4:7). The world wants the reverse. But God’s promise is that as we come near to Him, He will come near to us (4:8). It means letting go of the world and its ways and cleaning its filth off us: Wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded (4:8).
We can’t stand for God in any shape, manner or form and keep dabbling in the world. Remember the world here is a system of thinking that outworks in a pattern of life. This doesn’t mean rejecting the natural world or human friendships. We need both, but we don’t need a lifestyle that pulls us away from God and His people.
James equates going after the world with spiritual adultery. We are to be forever joined to Jesus. Right now we’re engaged. At conversion we publicly committed ourselves to Him. So now the call is to hold to that commitment.
Holiness is living for Jesus. Holiness is keeping our love-relationship with Him front and centre. Commitment to the spiritual disciplines of reading and applying the scriptures, praying, and being actively involved in a local church are all indispensable to walking with your God.
And above all, make Jesus the centre of it all.
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