Our selfish desires drive us toward hostility with others...

This week, we are looking at a section of a letter that is recorded in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of James. Yesterday, in James 4:1, we saw James reveal for us the reality that the source of hostility, animosity, and conflict that humanity experiences is not external in nature. Instead, James explains that the source of this hostility, animosity, and conflict is the pleasures that wage war in our members.

James explained that our selfish desires to experience pleasure battle within our bodies in such a way that we act outwardly to satisfy those desires to experience pleasure. And when our selfish desires to experience pleasure are blocked, either by our circumstances or by other people, the result is hostility, animosity, and conflict with those who block our ability to experience the pleasures that our selfish desires desire.

James revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to the faith that works in that the faith that works recognizes that conflict among us flows from the selfish desires within us. Just as it was for followers of Jesus in James day; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, the faith that works recognizes that conflict among us flows from the selfish desires within us. And in James 4:1-6 we will see James reveal for us two areas of hostility and conflict that our selfish desires drive us toward. Today, we will look on as James reveals the first area of hostility and conflict in James 4:2-3. Let’s look at it together:

 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Here we see James provide three specific examples that reveal the first area of hostility and conflict that our selfish desires drive us toward. However, to fully understand these examples we first need to understand a few things. The first thing that we need to understand is what James means when he states, “You lust and you do not have; so you commit murder”. Now when James uses the word lust here, this word refers to a strong desire for something that is forbidden. So James is referring to a strong, selfish desire for something that we are unable to experience or possess.

In addition, when James uses the word murder here, this word refers to the willing and premeditated act of taking the life of another. James point in this first example is that throughout human history, human beings have responded to a strong a selfish desire for something that was forbidden by willingly depriving others of life by willingly taking their life.

Now that leads to the second thing which we need to understand, which is what James means when he states “You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.” Now to be envious is to experience intense negative feelings over another’s achievement or success. To envy is to want what others have or to not want others to have what they do have. 

James point here is that throughout human history, human beings have wanted what others have and yet have been unable to have what others have. And as a result, human beings have engaged in heated disputes and been hostile to others as a result of not being able to have what others have.

The third thing that we need to understand is exactly what James is referring to when he states “You do not have because you do not ask.” The word asked here literally means to ask for or demand something from someone. But who is being asked and what are the people asking for?” When it comes to who is being asked, James here is referring to asking God in prayer. So James is basically saying, “You do not have from God because you have not asked of God”.

But what are they supposed to be asking for? Is James referring to the things that others have that they do not have? Is James referring to the things that they are lusting for? In other words what have they not asked God for?

I believe that the answer to this question is found by looking at the context of James statement in this letter. Last week, we looked on as James asked the question “Who is wise among you?” James then unpacked what the wisdom from God produced as opposed to what the wisdom from the world produced. Here James is going back to this idea of what wisdom produces when it comes to our relationships with others.

James point is that throughout human history, human beings have lacked the wisdom to distinguish what God wants for them from what they want for themselves. And the reason that they do not have the wisdom from God to distinguish what God wants for them from what they want for themselves is because they have failed to ask God for that wisdom.

We see James further unpack this reality in verse three, when he states “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” What is so interesting is that the word wrong here literally means wickedly. In addition, the word spend, in the language that this letter was originally written in, conveys the sense of using something up wastefully.

 So if James was making this statement in the language that we use in our culture today, this statement would sound something like this: “You also do not receive what you ask for from God because the motive behind you asking God is wicked. You just want God to give you what you want for yourself so that you can waste what God gives you on yourself.”

And it is in these verses that we see James reveal for us the reality that our selfish desires drive us toward hostility with others. Our selfish desires drive us toward a hostility with others that flows from our selfish desires that are forbidden and that drive us to deprive others of life. Our selfish desires drive us toward a hostility with others that flows from our selfish desire to want what others have and not want others to have that they do have.

And our selfish desires drive us toward a hostility with others that flows from our failures in prayer. A hostility that flows from our failure to ask God for the wisdom that we need to distinguish what God wants for us from what we want for ourselves. A hostility that flows from our failure to ask God with the right motives, but to instead be driven by the selfishness within us so that we can selfishly waste whatever we are given on us. 

So here is a question to consider: Are your selfish desires driving you towards hostility with others around you? Are you experiencing a hostility with others that flows from a selfish desire that you have that is forbidden for you to have? Are you experiencing a hostility with others that flows from a selfish desire to want what others have and not want others to have what they do have?

Are you experiencing a hostility with others that flows from a failure to ask God for wisdom to distinguish between what God wants for us and what we want for us? Are you experiencing a hostility with others that flows from a failure to ask God with the right motives? Because our selfish desires drive us toward hostility with others.

James then reveals a second area of hostility and conflict in James 4:4. We will discover this second area on Friday...