Tag: James
James 4:7-8 The Devil Made Me Do It
When I was very young, there was a comedian by the name of Flip Wilson who had a TV show. I don’t remember the show all that well because, like I said, I was very young. But I do remember that one of his routines made popular the saying, “The Devil made me do it.” It became common to hear people use that phrase to excuse any kind of inappropriate action that they may have committed. Did you eat the last piece of cake? Yes, but the devil made me do it.
Interestingly, people today still use a similar excuse for bad behaviour, though they may not use the same words anymore. Somehow in their minds they believe that Satan has power over them. Nothing makes Satan happier, I’m sure. Yes, Satan will surely put temptations in our way. In the book of Job, we see that Satan spends his time roving around the earth looking for someone to provoke. (Job 1:7, Job 2:2) I Peter 5:8 tells us that we need to be alert and aware because Satan is surely out to devour us. He does this very cunningly, by deception. He doesn’t want us to know that his goal is to devour us; he makes it look much more pleasant than that, (II Corinthians 11:14) but what he really wants is to turn us away from God.
The truth is that if we have God on our side, we are more powerful than Satan. God gives us this promise, with instruction, in James 4:7-8. The instruction is to submit to God and resist the devil, to cleanse our hands and make our hearts pure. We are still responsible for the choices that we make. We need to focus on God and His purposes, instead of our own human desires. (James 1:13-15) We need to think with an eternal perspective. Sometimes we just need to think before we act. Then the promise comes into effect. If we resist the devil, the devil will flee from us. If we draw near to God, God will draw near to us. In both cases we need to take the first step. We are not just puppets in this game. We are responsible for the decisions we make and for the actions we take. But the more we spend time with God, through prayer and Bible study, the more easily we will be able to recognize Satan’s schemes and then make good choices.
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The following video is an example of Flip Wilson's routine:
James 1:9-11 Pride of Place?
Regular readers of this blog will probably have noticed that I have been away for a few weeks. I have been quite ill, and I would like to thank my guest authors for filling in the gap while I was unable to write. It started out as a pretty average illness, but a reaction to medication made it quite serious. I honestly thought I might die. That’s the kind of feeling that tends to change your perspective on life, and make you think about eternity.
I believe that James was trying to teach a similar lesson in James 1:9-11. He says that the poor should take pride in their high position, and the rich should take pride in their low position. That is not to say that either are necessarily in the position they are in because of the amount of money or material possessions that they have. The point is that those who have little money tend to put their trust in God, while those who are wealthy face the temptation of putting their trust in their own riches and their own ability to control things. Unfortunately that is a false hope, because we truly do not have control over what happens to us. Yes, there are some aspects of our lives that we control; we do have the power to make wise or unwise choices that can affect our future, but there is a large part of our lives than can be affected by outside forces as well. Anything could happen at any moment that would change our life forever, or end it instantly.
The Bible is not against having wealth, but it is against making it a priority in our lives and trusting in it for our salvation from the trials that we face. The Bible tells us that God can provide for any need that we may have. (Matthew 6:19-34, Luke 12:29-32) God wants us to trust in Him, and to be men and women of strong character. He does not look at our outward appearance or at our possessions, but at our heart. (I Samuel 16:7) We need to make sure that our hearts are wholly devoted to Him, and then we will be ready for eternity.