Pride Stirs Up Strife
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8
The last few weeks have been hectic. Between the fires, the Week of Prayer and Fasting, Thanksgiving outreach prep, and all the other million-and-one needs to be met, it gets hard sometimes to spend adequate time in the Word and just spending time with the Lord.
We’ve all heard this verse before to some extent. It’s a nice pithy statement that gets thrown around quite a bit. As I was praying and reflecting on what God’s been showing me lately, this verse popped into my head. Let’s look at it in context:
“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:1-10
I dunno about you, but when I slack in being in the Word, I tend to go back to my old character: critical, irritable, short-tempered, etc.
What that inevitably boils down to is “Pride”.
You know what I’ve discovered that is absolutely scary? You can pour your entire life into serving the Lord and STILL be completely far away from Him.
I’ve found that when I neglect to take time with the Lord, pride and self-focus can set in and cause all sorts of problems. I can begin to get critical of the people I’m serving with. Or my sense of compassion goes out the window and the things I’m doing become merely tasks to get out of the way. The “pleasure” I seek becomes relief that comes with simply “getting it over with”. The “war and fights” that result become an inner struggle between doing what’s in the best interest of other, and the desire to seek my own devices. Rather than ministering through His spirit, I begin to operate as a worldly person in my own strength.
Love goes down the toilet.
God’s commandments are simple: Love Him, and love people.
When you become too busy to pray or too busy for people. You’re busier than God ever intended for you to be. You’re busier than God!
When people go from being opportunities to share God’s love to mere annoyances, you’re in a a dangerous place.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Come to him with humility. Experience and be filled with His grace. You can’t give what you don’t have.