Murder the Messenger or Eat Humble Pie

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4 1-3

James tone changes in his letter from writing to believers to addressing a general audience. Remembering that this letter was written to the 12 Tribes of Israel who were scattered abroad it may have circulated to believing and non-believing Jews. The only other alternative that can be arrived at is that murder was a practice of the early church. A conclusion that I am not willing to embrace based on the conduct of the early church. What is shocking is the correlation between those that do evil and how they believe it is God’s will. Jesus addresses the growth of such people in John chapter 16; 2 he says, “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.” Paul certainly believed this when he was arrested Christians and consenting to their death as he did with Steven.

We see another example can be found in John 12: 9-11 Many people had gathered together to see Jesus and others wanted to see Lazarus “whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.” Instead of allowing the miracle to soften their hearts it hardened their hearts and their response was to become murderous.

You might say “so what, that was then this is now” In the west at least we have grown past killing people over religious issues. James is not focused on murder but sin. Remember he is the one that wrote “if you have sinned in one point of the law you have sinned in all of the law.” When he confronts the issue he is not gentle or subtle. He writes, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” David Guzik a commentator for the Blueletterbible.org states, “The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit has a jealous yearning for our friendship with God.”

Seeing the works of God are not difficult. A man raised from the dead, blind eyes being opened are all strong evidence of God working in the world. Testimonies abound in every generation about the goodness of God. For those who are hard hearted, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” His favor is empowering. When we submit to God we are empowered to resist the devil. A resisted devil is a fleeing devil. Free from distraction we can “draw near to God and he will draw near to us.”

However, before you get too excited about drawing near to God remember that he is a Holy God. When Isaiah drew near to God he said. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” Isaiah 6:5. James understanding this truth writes, “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.”

It is true that Jesus said to his disciples I no longer call you servants but friends but he said that to men who dedicated their entire lives to his service. We often act as if one text message to Jesus gives us access to the Holy of Holies.

In Isaiah case a “seraphim flew to him with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched his mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” James declared “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

To be lifted up is to see life beyond this world, beyond ambition, beyond pleasure. It is to make our Lord Jesus Christ the central relationship in our lives. No relationship is genuine unless the parties really know who they are, in my case it means the God who created heaven and earth, who became a man and walked out his life in real time condescends to speak to me on a daily bases. If that does not humble you, nothing will.

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