Life Project Blog

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

Have you ever gone to the doctor with some sort of illness, and left with a fist full of prescriptions that only treat symptoms? Last time I had the flu, back in February of 2008, She Who Must Be Obeyed directed me to go to the doctor, a command I shockingly disobeyed.  Why? Because going to the doctor for a case of flu, barring something in the extreme, strikes me as a complete waste.  They’ll give you something for the cough and fever maybe, but they can’t treat the infection, and the infection will run its course in 3-5 days… no thanks to the doctor.  In that case, I was good as new in 2 days. James, on the other hand, doesn’t waste any time treating symptoms in this letter; he goes right for the infection itself.

These verses begin a new section, one that continues through verse 12. In this section, James will take us right to the root cause of our problems. As we go, I would suggest that we take our time and let his words soak into our minds so that we will get their maximum curative effect.

James begins with a simple question, a question we should all ask ourselves, “What  causes fights and quarrels among you?” Do you suppose James is talking about the quarrels we get into individually, or the ones we get into as a Body of believers… or both?  “Both” would be my answer, but since I don’t know what quarrels you get into, I can only comment of the “within the Body” quarrels here, but the principle applies in both cases.  Why do different groups within the larger Body of Christ quarrel, and why are certain groups more prone to quarreling with others than most? I think James has some answers for us!

He begins to answer these questions by pointing out that we have desires that battle within us. I suppose that this can be as simple as a desire to be healthy and a desire to eat potato chips; the two desires seem to strive within us and sometimes our frustration oozes to the surface. In my case when this happens, I have ice cream instead!

“You desire but you do not have so you kill.” There was a time when a group of believers might desire earnestly to follow God, and they might have believed that they had found Truth that others had missed, and thus they had a great desire that all Christians would see the Truth in just the same way they do, and when others didn’t, they were killed. Yet, I think James is really talking about something much worse here, for I think in this scenario, all too often that group with those earnest desires ends up killing the faith of other Christians by their opposition, zealotry, and overbearing behavior. Perhaps you disagree with me, but I think this goes on more than we realize, and I think the ones who do this would be shocked if they were accused, for it appears they have no recognition they are doing it. For the record, I don’t have anyone in particular in mind, this is a hypothetical.

So, they want, but don’t have and so they fight. Yet they don’t have because they don’t ask God, but if they do ask, they don’t receive for their motives are wrong. In my hypothetical, the motives are wrong because when it’s all said and done, they care more about being right than they do about following the Lord Jesus Christ, which is all about love.

There are 9 more verses in this section, so we’re just getting started, we haven’t heard the last of this issue, that’s for sure.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

James 3:13-16

James now enters into a little section that appears to be a summation of what he has covered so far, sort of a “here’s the point” kind of section. What does all of his moral instruction thus far come down to? Wisdom.

Here, he will show wisdom of two varieties, that of this world and that which comes from God. If you stop and think about it, we’ve seen this in each section of the letter so far. If anyone in our midst is truly wise, then he or she must demonstrate their wisdom and understanding by living lives full of deeds that put their wisdom into practice; it isn’t adequate for us to simply talk a good game, we must live the right way.  In this, James mentions that our wisdom should result in humility, rather than envy and selfish ambition. Another way of saying this might be humility comes from wisdom, and selfishness does not.

Behaviors that come from selfish motives and attitudes are not from God, they are “earthly, unspiritual” and “demonic.” Selfishness results in disorder and evil practices, and I doubt that any further elaboration of my part is necessary here…

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

James 3:17-18

There are few passages in the New Testament that show love in action more clearly than this one, in which James says we will reap a “harvest of righteousness.”  What is righteous? It is a life that is lived putting our love for one another into action; it fulfills all of the requirements God has ever placed on us, and it is exactly what it means to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. What is left to say, other than to ask what each of us will do today to put our love into action?

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

James 3:7-12

James’ discussion of the tongue continues in these verses with a bit of hyperbole. While there are people who tame all sorts of animals, who can tame their tongue? Well, it isn’t easy is it?

The hyperbole, as I see it, is in suggesting that the tongue cannot be tamed at all. Taming the tongue is very difficult for most of us, but if it were impossible, what would be the point of this passage? From time-to-time folks come along who insist on a literal interpretation of everything and they sometimes object to my assertion that the Bible contains hyperbole. In the unlikely event that you are one of those, let me just politely ask you if you would take this passage to justify tossing “F-bombs” all over town… after all, the tongue cannot be tamed; “F-bombs” are normal, right?

James points out that the same mouth can both praise God and curse those made in His image, and the very strong implication is that this is not an acceptable way for followers of Jesus to behave. Certainly, it is almost impossible for me to imagine Jesus doing this, and since He is our model, I think we can safely conclude that this is also not the way we should conduct ourselves.

At the risk of shocking some, I would also say that there is much more at stake here than some kind of a “violation” because we might have uttered a “forbidden” word. No, that is entirely an Old Covenant perspective of Law and violations. In Christ, things are different. Cursing our brother is not simply a “violation” of some code, it is tearing down one of God’s sacred children. It isn’t simply about one’s choice of phrasing, it’s showing disdain for someone who God loves so much that He was willing for His Son to die to save that person, and thus it is a direct affront to God Himself. It is surely not an example of love in action.

This is a pretty obvious point, and I realize that James (and I) have covered this same principle in the discussion about favoritism, so I will leave it at that. Instead, I will close by recounting something one of my instructors taught years ago that made an impression on me that has stuck with me over time. She said that the way you speak is the way you think; if your language is sloppy and undisciplined, so will your thoughts be sloppy and undisciplined. If that is the case, your reasoning will be virtually non-existent.

Something to reflect upon, perhaps?

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

James 3:3-6

In this curious little paragraph, James fixes his attention on the tongue, or maybe more correctly on what words it sends out…

Using three metaphors to make his point, James set his focus on the damage a tongue can cause.  His first metaphor is a bit that is put into a horse’s mouth. By the use of a bit, a rider can control where a horse goes. Next is the rudder of a ship. This relatively small device controls a ship’s course and by adjusting the rudder, a ship can begin a whole new course for either good or ill.  His third metaphor is a small spark that can set an entire forest ablaze.  Small parts can do great good or great damage.

So it is with the tongue. It is a relatively small part of the body, but when it is misused, it can create tremendous damage, and set a dangerous course for its owner. Of course, the tongue itself is a metaphor, for James is not really talking about anatomy, but the words we speak.

When we speak (or write) we chart a course of sorts; we commit ourselves. We get married by saying “I do.” We can pledge allegiance by saying the words, we can build others up by saying encouraging words, and we can tear people down with abusive words. We can give God glory and we can commit blasphemy with the words we speak. We can use our tongues to plot a course to either heaven or hell.

So what will we say today?  Will we build up, or tear down, will we spread love and goodness, or will we spread evil and discord?  Will we glorify God, or will we defame His name?

The choice is up to each of us.