S) "1 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 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. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures."
James 4:1-3 (NASB)
O) There is such strong, definitive, almost absolute language used in this passage, that my initial reaction to it is almost to try and refute it. However, the more this passage is unpacked, dissected, examined closely, the more I see how James has correctly identified the source of conflicts among people. At the root of action, people do what they do because they want what they want. Humans are not automatons, and neither are we slaves of instinct. So, we have both desires, and the ability to rationalize our decisions. When there is a conflict, it is because two people have different desires, and different rationalizations about why their own desire is the correct or justified one. Really, that type of thinking is an assertion of independence. This is usurped sovereignty. This is also known as rebellion. As Christians, we are, by definition, pledging allegiance and submission to Jesus Christ as our Lord. We are, when we claim His name, also confessing to His sovereignty as our King. We are not our own, but we are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). So, that explains the warning James gives, but what about the promise tucked into it? What about the claim about asking, or at least asking with proper motives? This is the harder part for me, but there is a great clue later in the chapter (v.15). As subjects in God's kingdom, if we are asking Him for our desires, but we are prefacing the request with the disclaimer that we only want His will (that would be a good motive, as opposed to above), then that changes the complexion of the request. When we ask for our request because we want it for His purposes, and not our own pleasures, then not getting what we ask doesn't mean we don't get what we want, because what we want is what God wants.
A) At the root of this whole contention issue, is that I am not supposed to be sovereign. I am not supposed to be independently making decisions on what I should have, or why I should have it. Allowing my desires, particularly my emotionally driven desires, to determine my actions, is a faulty and dangerous way to live life. I am designed to be subject to the rule, authority, protection, and purpose of my King, Jesus Christ. When I do desire something, I must pray and ask with an underlying purpose that is beyond my own. As His servant, I want His purposes fulfilled. So, if I ask and He withholds, I understand that the thing I wanted didn't align with my greater desire, which is to fulfill His will and purposes. What all of this means to me, in a glorious display of grace, is that I am happier when I want what He wants. When I want what He wants, I am happier when I don't get what I thought I wanted. While this may, on the surface, seem like a self-defeating logic, that is actually te point. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).
P) Father God, You are holy, perfect, and good. I want what You want, Lord. I confess that too often, I chase desires that are my own before looking to see whether or not my desires are in line with Your purposes. I know better than that, but sometimes I am still fooled. Open my eyes and ears, Lord. Help me to stay firmly planted in Scripture, that my mind would be on Your ways more consistently. Help me to be kingdom-minded with my emotions and desires. Let me seek You first, and Your kingdom, trusting that everything else I need will be added to me. In all things, in my desires and my actions, be glorified. Let Your grace be ever bigger than my mistakes. Let Your will alone be done. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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