James 4:2-You Do not Have because You Don’t ask!

This passage of Scripture out of the book of James was written by James himself, the half-brother of Jesus Christ. The third chapter of James focused primarily on the power of your tongue and the importance of making sure that it doesn’t become a stumbling block in your life.

James chapter four begins to dive into the problem that pride, evil desires, covetousness, and selfish desires can create if these negative traits are not taken care of. He is addressing fellow believers of Jesus Christ that were beginning to follow their own lusts and the things of the World instead of the ways of God. The Christians that were around him were starting to turn on each other craving what the other one had.

Not only did they desire worldly things but they were willing to commit murder in order to get it! God’s Word has a whole lot to say about covetousness both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. In fact the 10^th commandment mentions that the Lord prohibits covetousness.

Exodus 20:17 details “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

You can also find God forbidding covetousness in the New Testament. Luke 12:15 reveals, “And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

James had a clear understanding of how detrimental characteristics like envying what another person has, following your own selfish desires, and having pride in your heart was. That is why he made it a point to send a strong warning to fellow believers regarding these attributes. In the same chapter he makes the declaration that a friend of the World is an enemy of God, James 4:4.

Another place in the New Testament that discloses the same kind of warning is found in 1 John 2:16 and it states, “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” The Lord is extremely clear on this matter, if we have love for the World and the things that are in this world our Heavenly Father is not a part of us, 1 John 2:15.

Why does God want us to separate ourselves from Earthly things? We can never forget that the prince of the world that we live in is Satan and the people that are following his worldly ways are considered sons of disobedience, Ephesians 2:2. Those adverse character traits like pride and covetousness can open the door to the enemy to wreak havoc in your life. He will use the wrong motives found in your heart to create strongholds that are hard to break.

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