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James 4:4 - Loving God or the World?James 4:4 (NIV) You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.James 4:4 (ESV) You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 (TLB) You are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband's enemies. Don't you realize that making friends with God's enemies - the evil pleasures of this world - makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of the unsaved world, you cannot also be a friend of God. INTRODUCTION There is nothing wrong with wanting a pleasurable life. God gives us good gifts that he wants us to enjoy (1:17; also see Ephesians 4:7; 1 Timothy 4:4-5). But having friendship with the world often involves seeking pleasure at others' expense or at the expense of obeying God. Pleasure that keeps us from pleasing God is sinful; pleasure from God's rich bounty is good. Why does James say that it is impossible to be a friend of the world and a friend of God at the same time? These two paths lead in opposite directions and to very different destinations. Friendship with the world leads to quarrels and fights (4:1-3), materialism (1 John 2:15-17), self-centered living (James 4:3), and death (Proverbs 14:12). The other path leads to faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13), the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and eternal life (John 3:16). [Life Application SB 2019] COMMENTARY PEARL By worldly friendships, by the charms of beauty, by pleasure seeking, mirth, feasting, or the wine cup, he tempts to the violation of the seventh commandment. Satan seduced Israel into licentiousness before leading them to idolatry. Those who will dishonor God's image and defile His temple in their own persons will not scruple at any dishonor to God that will gratify the desire of their depraved hearts. Sensual indulgence weakens the mind and debases the soul. The moral and intellectual powers are benumbed and paralyzed by the gratification of the animal propensities; and it is impossible for the slave of passion to realize the sacred obligation of the law of God, to appreciate the atonement, or to place a right value upon the soul. Goodness, purity, and truth, reverence for God, and love for sacred things - all those holy affections and noble desires that link men with the heavenly world - are consumed in the fires of lust. The soul becomes a blackened and desolate waste, the habitation of the evil spirits, and the "cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Beings formed in the image of God are dragged down to a level with the brutes. It was by associating with idolaters and joining in their festivities that the Hebrews were led to transgress God's law and bring His judgments upon the nation. So now it is by leading the followers of Christ to associate with the ungodly and unite in their amusements that Satan is most successful in alluring them into sin. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean." 2 Corinthians 6:17. God requires of His people now as great a distinction from the world, in customs, habits, and principles, as He required of Israel anciently. If they faithfully follow the teachings of His word, this distinction will exist; it cannot be otherwise. The warnings given to the Hebrews against assimilating with the heathen were not more direct or explicit than are those forbidding Christians to conform to the spirit and customs of the ungodly. Christ speaks to us, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 1 John 2:15. "The friendship of the world is enmity with God; whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." James 4:4. The followers of Christ are to separate themselves from sinners, choosing their society only when there is opportunity to do them good. We cannot be too decided in shunning the company of those who exert an influence to draw us away from God. While we pray, "Lead us not into temptation," we are to shun temptation, so far as possible. PP 458-459 COMMENTARY Loving the World An Amazing Fact: The Federal Aviation Administration is in charge of many things relating to air travel in the United States. Among its duties is providing statistics about air travel to both the general population and the airlines. In 2004, the group increased its estimate of the weight of an average male passenger from 170 to 184 pounds, underscoring the general trend toward obesity in the American public. Obesity doesn't typically happen by accident. Although there are legitimate medical conditions that result in excessive weight gain, most obesity results from people's choices to eat unhealthy foods in large quantities. Obesity can result in serious medical conditions that can threaten lives and raise medical costs for the people affected and, through increased insurance rates to compensate for the high cost of medicine, the entire society. The Bible outlines very specific dietary guidelines for God's people to follow. These guidelines don't exist as a test or as a means to earn salvation, but rather because God cares about His people and wants them to be healthy. Additionally, Paul challenges believers to understand, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). Though our physical health will likely improve if we follow God's dietary principles, we can follow a more general principle for all areas of our lives. First John 2:15, 16 tell us not to "love the world or the things in the world, because those things, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" are not from the Father. If we allow God to control our appetites for worldly things, including food, He will improve our lives and draw us into a closer relationship with Him. [Moving Mountains by Amazing Facts] CLOSING THOUGHT Who, Me? Adulterers and adulteresses? James couldn't be addressing you - or could he? God wants us to love Him with all of our being. He is a jealous God who will not share His rightful place in our hearts with anyone or anything. But we human beings are easily distracted by the world with its immoral, self-indulgent outlook on life. James boldly declared that if we love either the sinful pleasures of the world or the good things of the world more than we love God, then we have committed spiritual adultery. The world, which can indeed be alluring, sees God's wisdom as foolishness. Yet, to God, the world's wisdom is folly and its values lead to death. So will you look for joy in the pleasures the world offers or in God and His will for your life? Your choice reveals who is Lord in your life, and the results confirm the differences between Gods ways and the world's. Following the wisdom of the world - like committing adultery - leads to destruction. Don't deceive yourself: you are not immune to such unfaithfulness. [Being Still With God Every Day by Henry Blackaby] LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY 1 John 2:15-17 - Our Relationship with God and The World. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230903-1033.html Romans 12:2 - Transformation: Glimpses into How It Is Done. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2025/20250320-1424.html Romans 13:14 - Putting On Christ. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2025/20250411-1311.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/ |