James 4:4-6

Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy.  Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”?  But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”

As we consider this passage, the position of our hearts before God is paramount. Do we approach God and ask Him to fulfill our own selfish pleasures? James 4:1-3 talks about wars coming from our desires for pleasure. In essence, war is born from the war that is being waged within us. Verse 5 reveals to us that the Holy Spirit “yearns jealously” for us. Our agreement with the Holy Spirit is not a compromise, and it does not include a negotiation regarding terms of the relationship. The terms are surrender and humility that flows from a foundation of grace. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ and that truth is evidenced here in James. Because of the battleground of our souls, we are in danger of approaching God in prayer ready to “play both sides”. We try to befriend both the world and God, and that will never end well.