Evil World
Where does the evil in the world come from?
Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, “God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor? - James 3:13-4:12
According to James, we humans create our own problems.
We seek wisdom, but fail to understand that the true wisdom comes from above, not from within. It is for this reason that God has given his spirit to live with in us, to guide us back from our own desires to the truth that is God's desire for us.
Is it possible to live without conflict or war?
I wonder. It seems everyone has to change in order for that to happen.
James warns us not to befriend this world, but how do we do that? Do we need to stay sheltered in our own homes, the way we did during the pandemic?
But even there we can get into trouble, right? So long as we have access to the world, we are open to finding evil in it.
So, how do we love one another and live humbly, without being a target for those who seek to gain over us?
This is where war comes from. But is it not possible to enter into a conflict because of our love for our fellow man?
When we seek to defend those who are oppressed, are we not doing God's work?
That is the true conflict we face as humans on this earth. We are not alone, so what affects one affects all.
When we seek to do God's will, that may lead us into conflict. It is then that we pray for the wisdom from above to help us find the way back to God, leaving judgment to Him.
More to come...