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. James 4:1-3
Meditate.
Do you quarrel with others or with God?
Did
you have brothers and sisters with whom you quarreled and fought when you were
a child? Do your kids or grandkids fight now? Sibling rivalry is nothing new.
Look at Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. Abel was a righteous man, as portrayed in
Hebrews 11. The jealous sibling rivalry that Cain experienced was purely that.
Selfish and jealous. Cain didn’t give an offering that pleased God—so he got
mad at his brother, Abel, who did please God. Cain struck Abel and killed him.
Was that a wise choice? Obviously not. As a result, Cain was cast away from society.
He still didn’t please God, who must have given the young men some training as
to what He wanted and how they were to honor Him with their first fruits. Abel
obeyed. Cain didn’t.
James
suggests that 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. We need to converse—pray continually so that
God knows what we want and more importantly, so that we know what God wants and
expects of us. Communication and a close relationship are the keys to pleasing
God. Note that James points out that our motives have to be right—in God’s will—for
us to get what we want. Life is just not all about us and our desires. We are
to live to please God—to do what Jesus would do. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
taught His followers about the value of what and where we store our treasures.
What treasures are you storing in heaven?
God is so
generous. I hope you will get to know Him more each day. He promises to take
away our heart of stone—uncaring and selfish—and replace it with one filled
with the Holy Spirit that is gentle, tender, and obedient. That sounds like a wonderful
thing. God has a great and mighty plan that through His grace enables us to be obedient
and worthy of His attention and love.
And I will give you a new heart,
and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart
and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so
that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. Ezekiel 36:26-27
Prayer
– Lord, I am in awe of You. You are almighty and yet there are people out there
who are so focused on themselves that they don’t see You in Your magnificent
glory. Please take away any stony and stubborn qualities in my heart. No jealous,
fighting motives. I’m asking and trusting You to put a new heart within me so I
will be obedient to You. This is the desire of my heart—to be pleasing to You
and to serve You with my whole heart.
Verse
of Salvation ~ Praise the LORD! Sing to
the LORD a new song. Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful. O
Israel, rejoice in your Maker. O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King.
Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp. For the LORD
delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory (salvation). Psalm 149:1-4
© 2025 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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