James 4:3-Asking Amiss

This particular passage of Scripture out of the book of James was written by James himself, the half-brother of Jesus Christ. It is a continuation of the previous verse of Scripture pertaining to the right way to ask the Lord for the things that you need. When you seek your own sinful desires and selfish motives you can’t expect the Lord to give you what you are asking Him for.

James points out this fact throughout the fourth chapter of his epistle. He mentions that covetousness and envy can lead to you developing improper motives. Desiring another person’s things will allow adverse emotions to take residence in your heart. As Christians we are to want to understand God’s will for our life and the blueprint for that is found in the Word of God.

When we do not have the Lord’s Word embedded in our heart and mind, we will get led astray. The Lord tells is in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” We are to strive to consistently allow the Word of God to transform our mind and refrain from following the things of this world.

We can never forget that friendship of the World means that you are an enemy of God, James 4:4. What that means is if your goal is to follow your own lusts, evil desires, and selfish ambition then you are not following the will of God for your life. The Lord does not take that lightly and in fact He makes it clear that those that are friends of the World are enemies of God.

There are several passages of Scripture in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that detail how we are supposed to live our lives as believers of Jesus Christ.

For example in the Old Testament:

Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

Psalm 119:9 “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”

In the New Testament:

James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” 

1 Peter 1:14 “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.”

Once you become a Christian, the Lord calls you to come out and be separate from the World (2 Corinthians 6:17) because you are a new creation and your “old ways” are no more (2 Corinthians 5:17). In order for you to fully understand what the will of our Heavenly Father is for your life, you have to get into His Word: study it, digest it, and apply it to your daily life.

God is such an amazing Father and wants to give us the desires of our heart but He is not going to aid you in following your own unrighteous agenda. One of the greatest Gifts that we have living on the inside of us is the Holy Spirit. He will lead you into all truth (John 16:13) and will put a check in your spirit if you are going down the wrong path. It is then up to us to heed His Voice!

Now let’s take a closer look at the passage that I am highlighting out of the book of James.