JAMES 4
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, 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. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? – James 4:6-12
JAMES 4 CRITICAL & WAVERING MINDS LEAD TO SIN
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When a believer thinks highly of himself, he will find fault
It is his way of lifting himself up and putting others down
He will think and speak evil of others when he is critical
It leads to conflict and all kinds of division with others
A wavering mind cannot decide to whom it will stay faithful
It believes two opposing forces which makes them unstable
In all their ways, they are hesitant and doubtful
They don’t commit since they are very disloyal.
In the first book of James, he commands the believers to not waver. He then describes a double-minded or wavering person as someone whose loyalty is divided. He cannot make up his mind and James compares them to the wave of the sea that is very unsettled because it is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord according to James. No grace or blessing from the Lord is the consequence of the sin of wavering. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are double-minded in everything they do. They are committing adultery to God because they do not love the Lord their God with all their mind, heart, soul and strength. They are making sure that they get the best of both worlds. God is a jealous God and will not put up with unfaithfulness. In verse 8, James exhorts the double-minded man to purify their hearts. His antidote against the wavering mind is to humble themselves before God and obey his law.
In verse 11, he exhorts the believers not to speak evil of others or to judge them. Why do you think James cautions us to speak evil of others? Because it is against the law of love. In 1 Corinthians 13, it says that “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful, 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” If we walk in love, we will not speak ill of others or judge them wrongly or harshly, but in love bear with one another.
REFLECTION
- How prevalent are wavering and critical minds in our world today?
