
James 4:1-2
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.
I admit, I don’t totally connect with these verses. To me, they sound as if they were directed at a bunch of angry, disgruntled men. I hope that does not offend anyone, but I think in general, women are more often angered by being personally (emotionally) injured than they are angered by not getting what they want. In any case, when I am angry, looking to God and asking for peace is what usually leads to change. Asking God for peace seems to move things forward, out of the murkiness and into a better perspective.
Holy Lord, you do not want us to be filled with anger. You want us to be filled with your Spirit, peaceful and content with our blessings. I will strive for this. Amen
Becky, transforming
James 4: 1-2 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle with you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.
What causes me to fight? I don’t think I have asked myself this question. Is it my ego, my pride to be correct or just my desire to feel better then someone else? What I do recognize is that the good I want to accomplish is taken over with evil, when I desire to win. It is through the death of Jesus Christ that I have learned…
James 4:1-2
Why would I be angry with myself. Why would I cause conflict with someone else? James explains that these quarrels result from evil thoughts within ourselves. James continues with words about listening. both to people and to God. James suggests that listening to others—and not just listening to God’s word—is a means of calming ourselves of angry from within. Listening to others removes the anger and arrogance that keep us from doing God’s word spoken in Scripture. The most important conversation while praying is to ask God for help. When others speak words of disagreement, criticism, it is easy to respond in anger. But doing so usually makes our position worse, and always exposes our negative witness as…
James 4:1-2 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
I have always thought that my arguments are triggered by what is said or done at that moment, but my anger comes from something else entirely. If I get really angry with someone, it is from a hidden agenda that I have not acknowledged. It comes from not being honest and open with the person in question.
Dear Lord help me to be more open and honest with anyone who has the power to make me angry. Amen.
James 4:1-2
From the toy in the other child’s hand to oil fields in the Middle East, humans so thoroughly convince themselves they must have what they covet that they will be driven by anger to get it. James reminds us that if our greatest desire is our relationship with God, we can avoid having the “ battles within” that produce anger and fighting with others.
Prayer - God of abundance, teach me to be content in my circumstances, and free from any covetousness that breeds resentment and anger. May any sense of anger be quickly changed to one of peace. Amen
TAA