James 4:1-6

“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. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace.”

Isn’t it amazing how prone to conflict we are? We can find an excuse to escalate things to the point of conflict. Just pick up the paper and it doesn’t take long to see that most of the casualties revolve around conflict. There is conflict among nations and conflict within our own nation. Locally we deal conflict in our cities and towns. Even our churches, places that should promote Christ’s peace, are often marked by conflict. Over the last decade how many denominational disputes and divisions have there been? Unfortunately even in the family of God we find fighting. Then there is the issue of the nuclear family which is fraught with hurt feelings, broken relationships and divorce. Without God our default is a destructive one. As we turn to James chapter four James not only raises the question of what causes conflict, he answers the question, giving us both the causes and the cure. Today we will look at the reason for conflict followed later by the peaceful prescription for its remedy.

• The Cause of Conflict

Instead of beating around the bush James comes out and tells us that the cause of conflict is our conflicting desires. You see when my desires conflict with yours and one of us does not get what we want, then the battle begins. Once the fire is lite all it needs is the fuel of unforgiveness and it can rage for years. It’s easy to blame others for the things that rip and tear at the fabric of our relationships, but blame begins because we refuse to take personal responsibility for our people problems.  We refuse to forgive because we think we are not at fault. While we might like to find fault in others James confronts us with a hard truth, we need to look within ourselves for the source of conflict. Its time to stop hiding behind the blame and start being honest with ourselves. Pointing to other people as the problem may feel good to our flesh and free us from facing the painful facts but it doesn’t cure our conflict. Within every follower of Jesus Christ is the foul “old man” that dark and selfish side with a very capable capacity for sin. Deep within, in the mud of a man’s heart, lurk the lies that it’s everyone else’s fault. If we are unwilling to dive in and deal with this deceptive deceit we will always see our relationships disintegrating into dust. So why do we keep up the pretense that the problem resides in other people? Pride, because if we admit that we are the problem then we have to change to cure conflict. Its more comfortable and convenient to put change on others doorstep than deal with self. Yet what if we worked as hard at healing as we do harboring hurt feelings? Selfishness, when observed in others is obvious and ugly. Yet the sin of selfishness, that is malignant within us, can be neatly surrounded with rationalizations. It’s easy to make excuses for self’s shortcomings and dismiss our own deficiencies. But James describes us as people who want something, but don’t get it, and therefore we are unhappy. Why are we restless people, dominated by discontented because we are driven by pleasure, the “desires that battle within you.” The more we are driven by the pleasure principle the more likely we are to be participants in quarreling and fighting. Abrasive words and abusive actions are expressed to one another because we are not at peace within ourselves. The word for “fights” is also translated “war” means a continuing state of hostility and “quarrels” are outbursts of active animosity. We tend to think that peace is our natural state, and that conflict is unnatural, yet the reverse is actually true. James brings us face to face with three concepts that lead to conflict.

Converting – This is a carnal craving for more, a sinful, self-indulgent pleasure, driven by our desire to satisfy the flesh. It comes when we choose to pursue pleasure rather than God’s plan. It is driven by the desire to acquire and have, but it can never be satisfied because it is an unquenchable thirst. Covetousness causes conflict because it leads us to lust after life from the perspective of self not serve, taking us to the point that we do whatever we must to get what we want. It the lust for power, popularity, prestige and pleasure. Covetousness leads to fighting because we get frustrated by not getting what we want. Converting consumes us, taking charge and making our goal getting not God. All human conflict is ultimately traced back to the frustrated desire of wanting more than we have, and being resentful of what others have, whether it is position or possessions.

Careless – James says, “You do not have, because you do not ask God.” If you are like me it’s easy to make the mistake of turning to self instead of the Savior.  We need to get over our “I’ve got this God” attitude. Until we come to the realization that we are dependent on the Savior we will always default to self. When I try to get it usually leads to sin, but when God gives it always results in success. Even though we are children of God, who have been promised that He hears and helps when we pray we often don’t practice pray. Many times we simply view prayer as a tool to tackle our problem because we are preoccupied with our own plans and have run into a roadblock. We see prayer as a way to detour past the difficulties so we can get on with our walk our way. We are either so busy taking things into our own hands that we fail to pray entirely, or are so greedy that we pray with improper motives. Prayer is the way to experience our hearts’ desires, but real satisfaction is found only when focus on what the Father wants. James reminds us that, “…you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” God will not allow us to use prayer simply as a means to our own selfish ends. Genuine prayer leads us away from preoccupation with ourselves and toward His plan. It aligns us with God’s purpose rather than promoting our own cause. Prayer is not about bending God for your benefit. We have not for two reasons, one, we are seeking the wrong source and second we seek with selfish motives. James reminds us that some of what we desire is good and legitimate, but we don’t receive it because we don’t go to the source we are too busy trusting in self.  But James also reminds us that asking is not the only step, we must also ask with the right motives. Many of us are still making it more about our wants than His Will, like the name it claim it approach to prayer. Greedy prayer is not Godly. Yes we are encouraged and entitled to bring any and all request to God, but our prayer must be in the spirit of Jesus’ who prayed in Luke 22:42, “But not my will, but Your will be done.”  Next we see that a distorted prayer life leads to a deception spiritual life.

Cheating – The final word that describes what we face is the word adultery. If we are not careful we will become cheating Christians. For many our immediate reaction to this word is to recoil from it because the word brings to mind vivid pictures of sexual adultery. Which selfish, pleasure seeking, covetous, and carless living can lead to. However, at the deepest level, James is talking about spiritual adultery in which we are unfaithful to God. Throughout the Old Testament, God is seen as the husband and Israel is His bride and in the New Testament Jesus is the bridegroom, and the church is His bride. When we are having an affair with the world we are being unfaithful to our heavenly spouse. Instead of prayer there is prostitution, instead of dependency on God there is defilement.  Today there are a growing number of American Christians who are embracing their self-indulgent values making them the foundation and center of their faith. Instead of challenging the self-preoccupied living of a secular society, we have accepted and elevated it as the new norm for Christian living. This decision to place self and our egoistic interests at the center of the gospel stands Christianity on its head. We have a perverted and prostituted cultural faith, sleep with the world on Saturday, serving God Sunday then back to the world on Monday. Too many Christians try to live the American dream with a little Jesus overlay, like it all fits together. We are trying to fit the pieces of two different puzzles together, clashing Christ with our culture and trying to be content. We are sprinkling a little Savior into our secular and trying to find satisfaction. But James reminds us of a theme that is ever present in the bible and that is that God is a jealous God. He will not share us with sin. God reacts with holy jealousy and passionate pursuit when we whore after the world because He loves us. The facts are that faith should not flirt with filth. So are you willing to deal with what causes conflict in your life, your unhealthy heart that hungers for the carnal instead of Christ?

Matthew 5:1-10

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew chapter five opens with Jesus teaching us a powerful truth starting with His attitude and actions, unless we see and serve people we will never live out our purpose. Jesus saw stopped and served, and what He taught was the truth focused on relationship not rules. The first three Beatitudes dealt with how we enter the kingdom of God, Humbleness (poor in spirit), Brokenness (mourning), and Meekness. The next three dealt with how we express the kingdom of God, a new heart that is upward (hunger and thirst after God), a new heart that is outward (merciful), a new heart that is inward (pure in heart). The last two deal with how we can enjoy the kingdom of God. The way Christ calls us to enjoy the Christian life is a surprise too many for it happens when we eliminate strife (peacemaker) and endure spite (persecuted because of righteousness). Many Christians I know say they want to enjoy the Christian life, yet they consistently opt for the easy life. The way to enjoy the Christian life involves work but it is worth it. Today I’m going to focus in on the seventh beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” Peacemakers work to eliminate strife, instead of stirring the pot they practice peace. When it comes to peace in this life there are three types of people, peace breakers, peace fakers and peace makers.

• Peace Breakers

Peace breakers are those who go out of their way to cause conflict, and are deliberately confrontational. They are not just peace breakers they are trouble makers. They act like confrontational children with a chip on their shoulder, walking around looking for a fight. Not only are they disobedient but they are discontent, filled with disagreement. They will fight about anything and everything, including things that don’t really matter. They disagree just to disagree, Proverbs 16:28 calls them troublemakers, “A troublemaker plants seeds of strife” God does not delight in discord, and He doesn’t take kindly to troublemakers, He desires peace makers not peace breakers. Proverbs 22:11 says: “Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech will have the king as a friend” Notice the word friendship; friendship at its core is characterized by learning to get along with others. Christians should be friends because they are family, we should work together not war with one another. Instead of being a pain we should pursue partnership and peace. Are you difficult to deal with, do you desire discord or team work? What is interesting is how God’s Word directs us to deal with trouble makers: “Kick out the troublemakers and things will quiet down; you need a break from bickering and griping!” Proverbs 22:10 (MSG). The problem with this proverb is that most of us are outward focused; we fail to see the hardness and hostility in our own hearts. We see others shortcomings much sooner than we see our own.  When we search scripture it’s usually not to sift our own hearts. Like David it’s easy to see others sin, to give yourself a pass while pointing out the problems in other people. We use scripture to challenge others more than we do to confront self. But we need to examine our own hearts and see if we are peace makers or peace breakers. Proverbs 22:10 points to one of the greatest problems of a trouble maker, the tongue. Gossip, slander, and being a judgmental busy-body are not things that belong in the Fathers family. We need to kick these things out, its not the people that need removed it’s the perceptions and prejudices. It’s the attitudes that need to be adjusted to reflect the actions. We should be building each other up not trying to tear each other down. We are here to promote unity not propagate division. We are called to be peace makers not breakers, are you a builder or a breaker? Before we look at others we need to listen to what we are saying ourselves. We need to hear and take and inventory of the words that come out of our own mouths. Do your words hurt or heal? Do they wound or bring wisdom? Are you blessing or bruising? The next group are the:

• Peace Fakers

Peace-fakers will go to any and all lengths to avoid confrontation and conflict. In so doing they settle for a counterfeit peace that is based on avoiding the real issues not on the relationship. They seek comfort at all costs, they are willing to sweep over and stuff under for the sake of false peace. They avoid talking things through because it could be unsettling and upsetting. They tend to give up and give in for the sake of false security. They are the “don’t rock the boat” people, who are plagued with a pretending peace and become preoccupied with getting others to participate and play along. They will often change their conviction, and try to ride both sides of the fence just to avoid conflict. They will agree with everyone, no matter the issue is. They will tell people that they agree with them and then turn around and tell that next person who has a differing opinion that they agree with them too. They are faking peace, because peace is not appeasement, peace at any price is not peace. Being compliant to avoid conflict is not peace. When you know you need to tell the truth don’t be timid, be very careful what you say or don’t say to keep the peace. Remember what Paul told us in Ephesians 4:25: “Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself” (MSG). Don’t fake peace at the expense of truth, instead seek peace for one another. Now let’s look at the:

• Peace Makers

God wants us to promote peace not problems and peacemakers pay attention to what they say. Peacemakers are prepared to tell the truth and to trust God for the results because they want peace without compromise. They want peace that is lasting and worthwhile not words that are worthless. They are willing to deal with being uncomfortable because they know that it’s not about the wants of their feelings but the Will of the Father. They know better than to try and put a Band-Aid on peace. But when they are telling the truth and help people they do it gently so as to heal. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.” When they tell the truth they lead with love. Peacemakers also attack the problem not the person, you can’t focus on fixing the problem if you’re focused on blaming.  If you think you’re peacemaker yet all you do is blame the other person for the problem, then you’re not a peacemaker you’re a pretender. The truth is that you’re still trying to pick a fight, you’re trying to gain control of the conflict not the cure. If you’re still trying to establish blame then chances are you’re still bitter. Focus on the problem not the person, Ephesians 4:31-32 says to: “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” Peacemakers also chose to cooperate instead of compete, Romans 12:18 reminds us “If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.” Yes sometimes there are some people that are hard to get along with, but we are to do everything we can. The truth is that peace always has a price, if you want peace in your home, in your marriage, with your children and your church then there will be a price. It will cost you your self-centeredness, your callousness and your carelessness. You will have to surrender your selfishness and your self-inflated ego. You may need to say, “Maybe my spouse was right, Maybe my kids have a point.” Peace has a price because it involves letting go of self and giving God control. Peacemakers also emphasize relationships above resolution, they place the relationship at a higher priority than the problem. One simple fact that seems to slip our minds is that people are different from us because God loves variety. They are not just being difficult they are diverse, God made them that way and as a result they don’t always see things the way you do. Our commonality is not found in are likeness with each other but in our likeness with the Lord. Because our commonality is in Christ we actually have more in common that in competition.  We may not always see eye to eye but we do not have to be disrespectful in our disagreement. Building relationship is what matters to the Master and 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 reminds us: “Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.” (MSG). So what kind of a person are you, a peace breaker, faker or maker?