James 3:14-15 "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, of the devil."
Lord, I can hear it already. “Whoa, now! Are you kidding me? Isn’t that a bit harsh? Are you actually telling me that I have a strong to have what others have and I just strive to have the best for myself that I am from the Devil? Really?!
When You, through James, hit a nerve…You hit a NERVE! I love that about You, Lord! You do not “pull punches” but tell us the truth because You know that it the best for us. This world tells us to, “Grab all we can because this is all there is. Look out for #1 because no one else will. Take all you can because no one else will give it to you, and just so you know…you really do deserve it anyway so use that excuse to soothe your conscience.”
You know that these two things are a veracious cancer that will destroy us, and do it quickly. We Christians are to be:
Content with what You have provided
Unselfish
Loving
Self-sacrificing
Humble
God Centered
If we ARE, not just DO those things we will not do the evil works of the devil. Those who harbor bitter envy are usually either proud of it and broadcast it afar or in false humility try to hide it by saying they are not really like that. Since James is speaking to the brothers here, I am sure there were some like that in the Hebrew family that needed to be “called out” about these sins.
Lord, again, You are our example. All You owned was the robe on Your back. You neither owed, nor wanted, Your own home, flocks, business, or riches while You were here. Your “home” was in Heaven, You already owned all there is, and You didn’t have to prove your greatness by having “things”. You did accept food and lodging from Your flock, but gave back So much more! Where in all of that do we see bitter envy and selfish ambition?
The Devil is all of those things and more. That’s why he fell in the first place.
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