Just as a boat without an anchor becomes subjected to the laws of the sea, so too is the unanchored soul who subjects himself to the whims of the world. And yet as Christians we are called to live and serve God in a fallen world where corruption and sin abounds.
The apostle James issued a challenge to the dispersed Christian Jews in first century A.D. to lead Godly lives in an ungodly culture. His instruction and encouragement for us is found in today’s Scripture reading of the Book of James, 4: 1-4 NLT.
“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. 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.”
No one just simply falls into sin. It is a gradual slide, a slow movement that subtly shifts us further and further away from God. Like an unmoored boat, we drift into the deeper waters where the wind and the waves of worldly lusts make it harder to resist.
James explains it perfectly in chapter 4 when he says, “evil desires at war within you.”
We all have desires, and not all of them are bad. But the ones James is talking about here are the unhealthy desires for pleasure that wage war against us. Lust is one that James talks about. And it’s not merely sexual lust, although that is how we often think of the word. But lust comes in many forms: the desire to have what is not ours; the desire to have money, possessions, influence and status. The desire to be right, the desire to be self-absorbed. These cravings, while acceptable and encouraged by the world, are not acceptable to God.
William Barclay, a 20th century theologian and minister of Scotland, says:
“The craving for pleasure drives men to shameful deeds. It drives them to envy and enmity, and even to murder. Before a man can arrive at a deed, there must be a certain driving emotion in his heart. He may restrain himself from the things that the desire for pleasure incites him to do; but as long as that desire is in his heart he is not safe. It may explode into ruinous action.“
It requires more than just our own willpower. We need the Holy Spirit to help us keep our minds out of the gutter, otherwise we are ticking time bombs!
James goes on to say that we don’t have what want because we don’t ask God for it, and even when we ask – we don’t get it because our motives are impure. We seek things that give us pleasure – selfish and worldly pleasure – but God’s will doesn’t align with what we are pursuing.
So the challenge for you and me is to question the things we crave. Are they good things that are pleasing to God? Or are they impure things that are pleasing to the world around us?
If we are honest, the things we seek much of the time, as Paul says, are at war with the Spirit living inside us. This is why we must set our minds on good things. “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.” – Romans 8:5 NLT
Worldliness is, in essence, spiritual adultery. This was James’ point. When we drift further into the arms of the world that welcomes us, we are essentially being unfaithful to God.
Are we willing to make the pursuit of God more important than the selfish pursuit of pleasure? Are we willing to let go of the things we cannot keep in exchange for the things we can never lose?
God is merciful and kind, but He is also jealous. As Jesus said in Mark 8:36, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”
Let’s take time to today to think about our cravings. Are they healthy and God-honoring? Or do they align more with the world?
Former Blackout Artist 