Title James 4:1 - 17
Content Main text: James 4:1 - 17
*** Conflict due to greed (verses 1-3)
It is different for a person to feel a need and want it in life and to be greedy because of it. If you feel your need, you can ask God. However, if you have greed in your heart, you already have a conflict within yourself, and that conflict develops into a conflict between people, eventually blocking answers to prayer. Therefore, when you want to do something and need a certain object or person, you need to carefully distinguish whether it is a genuine need or an individual's excessive greed. Of course, this distinction is not easy, but I think it is a necessary effort for those who want to live according to God's will. Are you convinced that what I am doing now is absolutely necessary in the sight of God? Isn't it just to fulfill my mood and desires?
*** Conflicts due to the winds of the world
There is a big difference between being faithful in worldly affairs and being immersed in worldly affairs in life. Indulging in the world or worldly affairs is to become hostile to God and to make the Holy Spirit jealous. Therefore, in order not to fall into the world, believers must humbly approach God, resist the devil's temptations, and keep their small actions, attitudes, and moods and emotions clean. Failure to maintain this tension towards worldly influences leads to unknowingly being swept away by the world and clouding the spirit. Looking back on my life these days, aren't I just following the flow of the world? Are my interests, my work, and my motives different from those of unbelievers?
*** Correct posture for interpersonal relationships (verses 11-12)
The reason people criticize and judge people is because they set their own standards and compare them to their thoughts, words, and actions. Therefore, the act of slandering or judging can be seen as the act of making one's own law and judging according to that law. However, the saints do not have legislative and judicial rights, only the responsibility of obeying God's law. In the end, it is concluded that slandering and judging others is equivalent to evading the responsibility God has given us and exercising authority. It's easy to slander people without thinking too much, but whenever that happens, I have to think about whether I'm overtaking. Are there any things or people that I frequently comment on and criticize lately? Is my heart attitude at that time a humble attitude to keep God's law? Don't you come with a proud attitude to make laws and judge?
*** The right posture to make a plan (verses 13-17)
No matter what a person does, he must have ambition and ambition. However, when we do not realize the simple truth that our lives are not eternal, our desires and ambitions turn into greed and pride, which lead to sin and injustice. Therefore, no matter what kind of work you start, you can accomplish it according to the will of the Lord when you are conscious of the limits of life. Our vision must be infinitely large and expansive as God sees the world, but in doing concrete work to put that vision into practice on this earth, we must feel the limits of life and do it humbly and carefully. Are you sure that what I am planning now is in line with the will of the Lord?