James: Wisdom From AboveSample

If someone is sick, treating their symptoms will give them some relief. But that doesn’t mean they’re healthy. Doctors need to figure out what is causing the sickness and then prescribe some treatment that won’t just relieve the symptoms but will destroy whatever is causing them.

In chapter four, James starts poking around, not just at the way we live, but why we live that way. It’s because we’re worshipping idols instead of God. We have passions and desires that are adulterous. Instead of desiring God, we run after anything else that might give us selfish pleasure. Instead of asking God to help us live wisely, we ask Him to enhance our selfish pleasure seeking! Or we just don’t ask at all because we think we can manage without Him. We make our own plans, boasting in our arrogance and judging God’s laws, when the truth is that we are a passing mist with no idea what will happen tomorrow. Like Adam and Eve, who wanted to become ‘like God, knowing good and evil’, we make ourselves the authoritative source of morality, deciding what is good and evil based on our own preferences. And we're influenced by forces we aren’t even aware of.

But while the snake in Genesis caused humanity to fall, it won’t always be that way. In fact, the tables have turned. Jesus defeated Satan, putting him to open shame through His death and resurrection. Satan’s head has been crushed and we are invited to get a few kicks in, joining Jesus as conquerors of evil. ‘Resist the devil,’ James says, ‘and he will flee from you.’

The heart of our problem with sin is that we’ve let Satan deceive us into worshipping ourselves and whatever makes us happy. James’ prescription is to turn away from this miserable way of living and humbly draw near to God, asking Him for wisdom and trusting Him to give it.

Reflection: What are you tempted to worship instead of God? How can you replace that with drawing near to God?