Faith That Works: Worldliness

Have you ever declared WAR against another person?  WAR = a period or state of active hostility between two opposing sides.  We may not think so, but we engage in war with others all of the time. Even if the war only lasts a few moments, it is still a war.  Dad and mom say we should be home by 10pm, but we think we should be able to stay out ‘til 11pm . . . so we declare war.  We see a friend/boyfriend/girlfriend spending time with someone else, but we think they should be hanging out with us . . . so we declare war.  We take the chance of trying to make a new friend, but they ignore us . . . so we declare war.  Our coach doesn’t put us on the starting team, and we think we deserve it . . . so we declare war.  God says in His Word that we should not steal, but we think taking a few dollars from a friend’s locker is no big deal . . . so we declare war.  We declare war by INITIATING hostile interaction with another person in an attempt to GET WHAT WE WANT!  Being at war starts in with the selfish, prideful, passions, and desires of the heart and mind and moves to our attitudes, actions, and words!

READ:  James 4:1-12

Who are those that we declare war with and why?

We declare war with OTHERS by pursuing our selfish passions and desires (vs 1-3) – No one has to tell us what we WANT.  WANTING certain things is the most natural desire we have.  Interestingly, we all WANT different things.  But our WANTING is the same.  According to James, there are 3 WANTS that put us in conflict with others.  1)  Our want for personal pleasure (passion, hedonism).  2)  Our strong want for what is morally wrong (desire, lust) 3) Our want to possess what others have (covet).  So, why do these desires put us in conflict with others?  Very simply, when we want what we want, we will fight for it!  When we find ourselves in conflict with others, stop and think about what you are fighting for and why.  If you are fighting for a selfish, prideful, passion, or desire, I have one word of advice . . . STOP.    Take the time to ask God for what He WANTS you to possess in your life!

We declare war with GOD by pursuing friendship with the world (vss 4-5) – Simply by choosing to have a companionship with the world, without even saying a single word, we at the same time declaring war against God.  We position ourselves as enemies of God when we unfaithfully choose the world above Him!  To want any other person or any other thing in the world more than God is spiritual adultery.  God desperately wants us to want Him.  The best way to show God our love and friendship with Him is by doing what HE wants.  In order to do His will we first stop living for what WE want (I John 2:15-17).

It is sad that we find ourselves at war with God and others when the one we should be at war with is the devil! The devil is constantly pushing us toward our passions, pride, and friendship with the world . . . tempting us to start a war with God and with others.  So, how do we fight back? 

We declare war with SATAN by humbly submitting ourselves to God and drawing near to Him (vss 6-8) – In a book titled “Nearness is Likeness” AW Tozer wrote, “the more we are like God, the nearer we are to God.  I may be sitting in my living room with my Siamese cat on my lap, and my wife may be 20 feet away in the kitchen; yet I am nearer to my wife than to the cat because that cat is unlike me.  We have very little in common.”  As we submit ourselves to God and allow Him to conform us into His image we will draw nearer and nearer to Him and further and further away from our enemy the devil.

No one wants to be at war with God and others.  So how do we declare a truce and be at peace?  We can bring the “wars” in our lives to an end by letting go of our passions, pride, and friendship with the world!