You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy? But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” – James 4:4-6

Again James is not introducing a new topic here but continuing with a message he has been trying to get through in the previous chapters. He has consistently compared opposites, showing us that we cannot be two things at once. Remember these verses?

– Believe / Doubt – In 1:6-8, James calls the man who tries to believe and doubt at the same time double-minded and unstable.

– World tells us…but God – He told us to get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent. The world tells us we have a right to get angry or that it is not our fault because we were born with the tendency toward anger, but God has planted a different word in us and that word can save us if we accept it (1:20-21).

– Pure / Polluted – Religion that God sees as pure and faultless – to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (1:27).

– Rich / Jesus – Don’t show special attention to those who are rich when they are the same people who are exploiting you, dragging you into court and slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong. He started out this section by reminding them to whom they belong, that they are believers in the glorious Lord Jesus Christ (2:1-7).

– Knowing / Doing – You can’t just read the word and not do it (1:22-25); you can’t obey some of the law but not all of it (2:8-12); you can’t see someone in need and do nothing (2:16).

– Praise / Curse – Just like a spring cannot produce two different kinds of water and a tree cannot bear two kinds of fruit, you can’t use your tongue to praise God and then turn around and use it to speak poorly of those He has created in His likeness (3:9-12).

– Earthly wisdom / Heavenly wisdom – You cannot have both earthly “wisdom” and heavenly wisdom (3:13-18).

Even the first three verses of chapter 4, which we discussed yesterday, flow into today’s passage. We cannot look around at the world and desire what it has to offer, then turn and ask God to bless us with these worldly pleasures. Let’s read this passage in The Message:

You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.” – James 4:4-6 (The Message)

So the opposites continue. It’s either our way or God’s way; pride or humility. We are either God’s friend or God’s enemy – that is what we are when we choose to be a friend of the world. What is it going to be? I think all of us desire that close relationship with God but James is warning us that the world and its influence is daily pulling us away from God. In order to stay connected to God we must daily spend time in His presence, seeking HIS way in our lives and intentionally avoiding the many ways the world attempts to pollute us.

Lord, I love you so much and my desire is to draw closer and closer to you. That you call me friend and that you pour your grace on me, these truths overwhelm me. What you give in love is far better than anything else I will ever find. Lord, show me the ways in which my attention is being drawn to earthly things instead of to you. Help me not to walk out of your presence today but dwell in you all day. Amen.