James 4:1-6 NKJV
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not
come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do
not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do
not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask
amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses!
Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever
therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or
do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us
yearns jealously"?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
"God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble."
Pride makes us want to promote ourselves rather than God.
This causes fights even among Christians when we put our desires first. We get
aggressive in what we want and are not happy until we have it. This is not the
way we get what we truly need.
We get what God knows is best if we pray to Him. Do not
do it to get what you want. God might have a better idea. Our motives should
align with his when we ask and He will give us what we truly need. He will even
tell you if you are not getting it or if something better is coming if we have
some patience. There is nothing wrong with wanting things, but make sure your
desires are not for self-gratification or for appearances.
The best way to curb the evil desires that occur due to
pride is to learn humility. Pride makes us self-centered while humility can
allow us to be other-centered. When we are humble God can then work wonders
through us that can help many and He does reward us for doing so. We won’t need
the latest and greatest car, gadget, whatever, but will want to spread the Good
News and help others instead.
Which would you prefer to step into the future as: the
prideful, selfish you that can so easily blow up when things go wrong and you
don’t get what you want? Or the one who has God on their side and find even
greater fulfillment doing as God wants with all your needs met? I’ve been on
both sides of this and I’ll stick to doing it God’s way.
Hello Althea. I am a Pastor from Mumbai, India. I am glad to come across your profile on the blogger and the blog post and know you as a Christian. Your post on Pride Promotes Strife is so enlightening and enriching. I love to get connected with the people of God around the globe to be encouraged, strengthened and praying for one another. I have been in the Pastoral ministry for last 37 yrs in this great city of Mumbai a city with a great cotrast where richet of rich and the poorest of poor live. We reach out to the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the brokenhearted. we also encourage young and the adults from the west to come to Mumbai to work witih us during their vacation time. We would love to have your young people come to Mumbai to work with us during their vacation time. I am sure they will have a life changing time. My email id is: dhwankhede(at)gmail(dot)com and my name is Diwakar Wankhede. Looking forward to hear from you very soon. God's richest blessings on you, your family and friends.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found this post enlightening. I have health issues that keep me from traveling much, but I do find ways to help where God leads. One of these is sponsoring a child with One Child Matters and currently it is a boy in India. I enjoyed watching the prior boy in Ethiopia grow up out of the system and even go to college for engineering.
DeleteHello Althea. I am a Pastor from Mumbai, India. I am glad to come across your profile on the blogger and the blog post and know you as a Christian. Your post on Pride Promotes Strife is so enlightening and enriching. I love to get connected with the people of God around the globe to be encouraged, strengthened and praying for one another. I have been in the Pastoral ministry for last 37 yrs in this great city of Mumbai a city with a great cotrast where richet of rich and the poorest of poor live. We reach out to the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the brokenhearted. we also encourage young and the adults from the west to come to Mumbai to work witih us during their vacation time. We would love to have your young people come to Mumbai to work with us during their vacation time. I am sure they will have a life changing time. My email id is: dhwankhede(at)gmail(dot)com and my name is Diwakar Wankhede. Looking forward to hear from you very soon. God's richest blessings on you, your family and friends.
ReplyDelete