By Lee Huddleston, Retired Pastor of SeaCoast Church, Redondo Beach, CA
Read James 4:1-3.
The Times of London once sent out an inquiry to famous authors, asking the question, “What’s wrong with the world today?” G.K. Chesterton, British author and philosopher, responded simply,
“Dear Sir,
I am.
Yours, G.K. Chesterton.”
When Christians are asked, “What is the cause for all that is wrong with the world?” we most often answer with one short word: sin. That answer is good theology, absolute truth, and an easy answer, yet it clouds a deeper answer.
It’s simple and even guilt-reducing to point our finger “out there” when identifying the source of conflict and wrong. We bemoan the groups and forces polarizing our county as never before. We rail at different levels of societal corruption from the White House to the Statehouse to the Church house. We thunder against immorality of every sort. We rightfully deplore human and drug trafficking. The list goes on and on.
There is a deeper and more troubling answer in the book of James. He places the source of the wrong around us … in us … in the person we see in the mirror each morning. The telltale words are “within you”. I am the problem. You are the problem.
Earlier, in the first chapter of James, we are told how to respond to our problem. We must look carefully into the mirror of God’s Word, the perfect law of liberty. It shows us the dirt on our faces and the sin in our lives and helps us clean up our act before we ever begin to clean up the world around us.
In chapter 3, he points to wisdom that is from Heaven that, when received, will help quell the conflicts in our own lives. It starts with the daily recognition of our sin and need of grace. I’m the problem. I must start there.
Only then can the Spirit do His work of changing and freeing us as He makes us more like Christ.
There is a deeper and more troubling answer in the book of James. He places the source of the wrong around us … in us … in the person we see in the mirror each morning.
Reflective Questions:
- When thinking of the causes of conflict wrong in this word, is my first impulse to look “out there” or “in me”?
- How am I handling the conflicts in my life right now?
- How do I see the perfect law of liberty freeing me and conforming me to the image of Christ in tangible ways in this season of life?
Memory Verse:
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? James 4:1 (ESV)
Prayer:
Dear God, I know there is a lot wrong with the world I am living in. I also know that I am part of that problem. Help me to look inside my own life and work on me before I point out what is wrong with those around me.
Related Scriptures:
James 1:21-25; 3:13-18; Galatians 5:17; Colossians 3:5; I Peter 2:11; Galatians 5:17; Romans 7:23; I John 5:14; Proverbs 15:8
I love this very important thought. I must look within and let the Holy Spirit “search me, and know my heart”
(Psalm 139:23-24) Thank you for this devotion!