Scripture
Drawing Close to God
1What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
4You adulterers![1] 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. 5Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.[2] 6And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”[3]
7So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
Warning against Judging Others
11Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters.[4] If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.
Translation notes (4)
- 4:4 Greek You adulteresses!
- 4:5 Or They say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy; or They say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, opposes our envy.
- 4:6 Prov 3:34 (Greek version).
- 4:11 Greek brothers.
Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God's law.
Can you remember a time when you spoke encouraging words over someone? The way someone's face lights up when they hear that they are doing good work and to keep going is incredible. Now, think about a time when you spoke discouraging words over someone. Seeing someone's demeanor change and face drop is heartbreaking and causes instant regret. The truth is that our words have the potential to significantly impact someone's life, for better or worse. They even have an impact on us, too.
James chapter 4 warns us about how we use our words against each other. The chapter begins by saying, "What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don't they come from the evil desires at war within you" (verse 1). The fights and arguments all come from our desires, like jealousy, pride, and selfishness, to name a few. When we fight and argue, we are simply stimulating the evil desires within us, affirming them instead of giving them to God and letting go of them. This hurts us and causes us to grow in those evil desires. Arguing also hurts the people we are arguing against. It hurts people, tears them down, and destroys relationships. In light of this understanding, James instructed leaders, "Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters" (verse 11). Instead of arguing and quarreling, James calls us to commit to not speaking evil against each other. This means not speaking critical, harsh, or harmful words about anyone. Living this way, we will find less arguing and fighting with the people in our lives.
Can you imagine if we all committed to living this way? What if we all decided to stop speaking evil, harsh, harmful, and critical words about anyone? People would take notice that we speak differently than the people around us, and we would point them to Christ. We would have stronger and healthier relationships in our lives as well.
Moving toward action
Memorize James 4:11. As you memorize this verse, let it remind you how to use your words to positively impact the world around you. Choose to follow the instructions in this verse, taking seriously the impact that your words may have.
Going Deeper
James 4:1-11
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