Author: Kristen Kansiewicz, LMHC

“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

If there is a prophetic message for the American church at this exact moment in our history, I think these verses are it. Don’t just glance though today. Sit and simmer. Take it in. What do these verses mean for you, for us as the church? What are some ways you can identify that we as God’s people have divided our loyalties? How are we chasing the American dream while also claiming to chase after God?

Materialism. Power. Greed. Celebrity status. Abandoning the poor. These are just the first examples that come to the top of my head as I think about the values of the American church in the big picture of things. Have we sold our souls for extra money and fifteen minutes of fame? Have we claimed that these things are all necessary for the “cause of Christ”? And what should our responses be to these compromises? Tears. Sorrow. Grief. And then, humility.

The last 7 words of these verses are perhaps the most powerful summary of the Gospel that we could have. After talking about the tears and the grief and the sorrow over our sins, James says that if we choose a path of humility, “he will lift you up in honor.” God is still willing to honor us and raise up the church if we will simply turn from our ways and humble ourselves. What would that look like for us today? How can I identify compromise in my heart and join together with all those who are also willing to turn fully back to Jesus? There are not easy answers, which is why we must continue to wrestle our way towards repentance.

“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'”

Just when you thought James was calming down, it turns out he was just getting started. The prophetic name-calling should certainly get our attention if nothing else. You probably haven’t thought too much about whether or not you are cheating on God before. But most likely you are. We are all incapable of faithfulness (remember those evil desires from yesterday’s post?). Every time we flirt with the world we are cheating on God.

So how do you know if you are dating the world? It may help to look at some of its common forms of seduction: money, power, fame, looks, status, stuff. If you care much about any of these things, the world has you wrapped around its finger and is luring you away from God as we speak. God generously gives us the Holy Spirit when we begin to follow Jesus. Our spirits and God’s spirits unite in a way very similar to marriage, and that union is something God is very passionate about. And yes, there’s grace. But there is also getting over yourself.

Even more accurately, God is passionately pursuing us. As a church. His Holy Spirit uniting with all of our united spirits in a marriage for all eternity. As the church, we must remain faithful to the Spirit of the living God. This faithfulness requires great humility as well as a constant seeking of God’s presence and a deep understanding of Scripture. May we all seek to fulfill our roles well in this supernatural wonder.

“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”

We’ve all experienced inner conflict. But have you ever thought about the fact that your insides are trapped in a constant war? Paul wrote about this in Romans 7 (and we may jump over to Romans when we finish with our James series!). We make up our mind to live in certain right ways — anyone ever made a New Year’s Resolution?? Usually we lose before we even get a tiny win. There seems to be this giant force defeating us all the time. Some call it the “devil on your shoulder.” The Bible calls it your flesh, which is the part of you that carries evil desires around and acts without your permission sometimes when you least expect it.

Today’s verses are all about those evil desires that none of us want to admit we have. When was the last time you wanted something you couldn’t have? How often do you experience jealousy? Our American culture and economy is almost entirely based on climbing to the top of a ladder often driven by greed and competition. Here James points out that this is not at all how the kingdom of God works. God’s system starts with aligning your desires and motives to his, seeking what he wants for you, asking him for that, and receiving it.

Consider Galatians 5. The fruit of the Spirit is what God has for you. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control. Want more of these and you will always get them. It is the most clear and comprehensive list of the good gifts God has for you. They are yours. Anytime. Everything you think you want or need doesn’t compare to the free life you can have with these gardens of the Spirit growing in your soul.

“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”

Remember from James 1:5-6 that God gives away wisdom like its free candy. No hoops, no strings attached. Wisdom flowing from heaven through the Holy Spirit and through the words of Scripture. So exactly how do we know when we encounter real wisdom from God versus earthly philosophies that sound nice in the moment?

These verses give us some very specific descriptors: pure, peace loving, gentle, yielding to others, fully of mercy and good deeds, doesn’t choose favorites, sincere, and bringing a harvest of righteousness. That is some pretty supernatural stuff. Sadly, this list is not what most people would like if they were to describe “Christians” they know.

Jesus’ way is a way of pure and sincere wisdom, that brings peace and puts the needs of others first. His way is gentle and merciful. If you are a follower of Jesus, when you plant seeds of peace you get a whole crop of righteousness in your life. Jesus’ way is better than any human or earthly kind of thinking. Be your free self today by living a life that makes use of God’s divine wisdom. It will always end up better than any other way you can think of.

“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.”

It is really regretful that we as Americans are so detached from the process of growing our food. Perhaps if you have done some gardening, you are closer than many of us to really connecting with the idea of planting seeds and reaping a crop. Today’s verses talk about ways we can examine the fruit of our lives to determine if we are following God’s ways or Satan’s. James breaks it down very clearly for us here.

You have two kingdoms: God’s and Satan’s. In God’s kingdom, life, health, peace, abundance, and love grow. In Satan’s kingdom, you find death, disorder, strife, poverty and hate. When you examine aspects of your life or the world around you, you can easily see where God is growing good fruit versus where Satan is destroying you. (And here’s a hint: jealousy, selfishness, boasting, lying, and evil are demonic inventions of Satan.)

James is giving us a huge insider tip here as he lets us know that wisdom = humility = good works = fruit of following God’s ways. Your heart will be crippled and diseased if you believe all the lies in your head that tell you someone else is better than you or that you should just look out for yourself. There are lots of reasons we protect ourselves, especially when we have been hurt in the past. But no matter what your story, you have full access to the wisdom of God and ultimately to a humble attitude that will set you free. Jesus was totally free of all of these evil things because his heart was humble and aligned with God. Imitation of his life is guaranteed to release you from the clutches of a hard and evil heart.