Bringing it all together

 James 4:1-3

This week James brings his message out "success in godliness" full circle and scales back from the individual perspective to what this looks like in a collective group of  believers. The opening question in our reading today says it all, "What causes fights among you?" Two things should be noted here. First, James is addressing the plural group of Christians as a community. Second, there were apparently fights, discord, and disagreement in the group. I'm sure that sounds so hard for some of us to believe... Why are these two points so important. First, remember that James is not writing a private letter, but writing to all the believers who have been scattered by persecution. Second, what is held in the depths of each individual believers heart will ultimately affect the community as a whole. This is a fact! Just hang out in one church long enough and you will see it. Fleshly desires for power, influence, money, social status, titles, or positions will always rear their ugly heads and cause fights and division. James points out here that if we were truly "successful at godliness" then we would be bringing peace to our church communities. But, since there are fights and quarrels, then obviously, some of us still need to grow in "success". Just because there is a chapter division here doesn't mean James was done with one thought and moved onto the next. These verses should not be separated from the ones that came before them. If there are fights and discord in our Christian communities, then by extension we are not mature or "successful in godliness". If, we are the kind of believers that are sowing and bringing peace in our churches that we are mature and "successful in godliness". It's not hard to understanding, but making our hearts comply with the simple truth of it can take a lot longer. Where are you today? 

Prayer: 
Jesus my King, I know that You desire me to follow in Your example and be a peacemaker. Please help me to rid myself of all selfish ambition and desires and willingly be humble, submissive, and a peacemaker in my family, church, and community. Use me Lord, I am ready to serve. Amen. 

Reflection: 
On a scale from one to ten, how much of a peacemaker are you? 
What will you change this week? 

Peacemakers

 James 3:17-18

My grandmother used to tell me character is the what you do when no one else is looking. I still find this to be fruitful advice and have passed it onto my children. However, there is another related principle that I have learned that I think is equally as important. Your compassion is measured in the way you treat those who are weaker than you. This second guiding thought is more inline with our reading from James for today. Having just given us two examples of how not to treat or view one another, James turns and gives a positive example that all believers should follow. Again, remember the word wisdom here also means "good at life" or "successful in godliness", but now we see the positive test of what this looks like lived out day by day. Having just looked at the "wisdom of the world", James offers a view of the "wisdom of heaven" and it looks a lot like peace-making. Do you notice that all the attributes are best exemplified in relationship with others? So were jealousy and selfish ambition. But, now we see that we are to have the opposite kind of attitude in our relationships with others. Considerate, submissive, impartial, and sincere don't sound like the attributes that we in the "west" consider to be successful, but remember, we often measure success in our comparison to others. This is what James is telling us to avoid. We instead should measure our success in how we we can bring peace in as many of our relationships as possible. THAT is the best way to honor the King of Kings, who by the way is also the Prince of Peace. 

Prayer: 
Gracious God, I know I am not a very good peacemaker. Please help me to let go of my pride, hurt, offense, or anything else that holds me back from living at peace with my community. I want to reflect Your peace and Your love with my lifestyle. Lead me Jesus. Amen. 

Reflection: 
If peace-making were the sole measurement of your "success in godliness" how do you do? 
What are you willing to change this week? 

Rivalry and Rebellion

James 3:16

I am not good at sports. Any of you who know me know how true this really is. I was on the chess team, not the football team. But, one thing I did like about the sports culture either in school or in the college culture is rivalries. I have always found it fascinating that people will judge an entire campus of students and their respective fans as enemies just because of the name of the school and the success of their football team. Now, for most college football fans, rivalries are a nice way to express team spirit. But some take it too far and actual have real feelings of hate for other football fans. Even outside of the gridiron, rivalries can be powerfully destructive to friendships, families, and the like. James addresses this idea again directly when he makes another pass at the concepts of jealousy and selfish ambition. Yesterday we saw that both of these feelings stem from the root of defining the quality of our lives by comparison to others. Yet, in our reading today, James takes it a step further. When you find someone who has jealousy and selfish ambition in their life, you will find someone who is living in rebellion and likely authorizes or justifies sin in their own life. That's right, living a life that defines your happiness by its measurement to others will lead directly to sin! Now, think about how dangerous Instagram could be for our young people. The Bible's wisdom is ageless and we must be prepared to take a hard look at the truth that it tries to relay to us. Our futures are hanging in the balance. 

Prayer: 
Holy Spirit, please speak to my heart, lead me in my mind, and give me the courage to stand against the tide of culture and live to please You and no one else. Help me rescue and redeem my mind from the lie that I will only be happy if I compare myself to others. Amen. 

Reflection: 
What areas of your life are you still comparing to others? 
Why do you do this? 
What is the fruit from that root? 

Old School Problem

 James 3:14-15

In a recent Time Magazine article, it was revealed that of the main social media networks, Instagram is the worst in terms of it's mental health impact on teens and young adults. While some may think that this is only a modern day problem because social media is a relatively new invention, the reality is the Bible speaks directly to this topic. In our reading today, James continues to describe what it means to be "successful at godliness". In our reading, he notes the fact that believers in the first century were harboring envy and selfish ambition in their hearts. These are really two sides of the same coin. Jealousy or envy is wanting something that someone else already has. Selfish ambition is the desire to have something that someone else doesn't have yet (think rivalry). Both of these hurts of the heart stem from the same root... the desire to define the quality of one's life by comparing it to others! This is exactly what we are finding out Instagram is doing to young people. The need to define one's life as good or bad, enjoyable or boring, even worthy or unworthy by comparing it to others is not a new thing. This problem has been around for a long time. We have just given it a new name a new face with social media enabled cameras in our pockets and purses. Notice what James says in the next sentence... this "wisdom" or the "experience of defining the quality of one's life by comparing it to others" is not godly and is even demonic! That's pretty harsh words coming from the half-brother of the Savior Himself. We must remember as disciples of Jesus, we are not to define our lives comparing ourselves to those around us. We are to measure ourselves to His example and strive to live according to His calling. 

Prayer: 
My Savior and King, thank You for saving me from my sin. I could never have done it on my own. Thank You for calling me Your own. Thank You for giving me a way out of the comparison cycle. Please help me to see myself as You see me and resist the temptation of comparison. Amen. 

Reflection: 
How much of your life do you define as "good" because of the way it compares to others? 
Ok... now be brutally honest... what parts did you skip? 

Successful at Godliness

James 3:13

Who is wise? James opens our reading with this question. I don't know about you, but the first few times I read this, I had to stop and ask myself, "what is wisdom?". So, I looked it up. The word wisdom used here by James literally means "experienced, practiced, or skilled" in context James is asking who is "good at life"? Or, we could word it in our modern day language and say "who is successful?" But, this question isn't the only one he asks. James also asks "who is understanding?" This one means roughly the same thing it means in our modern day language. "who is learned or knowledgeable?" Taken together, James is asking the question, "who is successful at godliness?" This is a powerful question to ask ourselves today. Are we "successful at godliness?" Do we even know what that looks like? James does. He tells us in the next sentence what we should look for to see it. Those who are really "successful at godliness" are those who are gentle and humble in their actions with others. Those who feel the need to force their will or control others with anger, volume, force, or any other non-gentle means are not "successful at godliness". Using James own criteria, how "successful" do you think you are at living out godliness? Being honest, just writing this devotional has made me realize I'm not as godly as I want to be. How about you? 

Prayer: 
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and grace. Thank You for Your patience with me. Lord, please help me to live a life of gentleness with others that reflects my commitment to following Your leading. Thank You Lord, amen. 

Reflection: 
Using the criteria of gentleness and humility, how "successful" at godliness are you? 
What will you change this week?