James 4:1-4 TPT What is the cause of your conflicts and quarrels with each other? Doesn’t the battle begin inside of you as you fight to have your own way and fulfill your own desires?
2 You jealously want what others have so you begin to see yourself as better than others. You scheme with envy and harm others to selfishly obtain what you crave—that’s why you quarrel and fight. And all the time you don’t obtain what you want because you won’t ask God for it!
3 And if you ask, you won’t receive it for you’re asking with corrupt motives, seeking only to fulfill your own selfish desires.
4 You have become spiritual adulterers who are having an affair, an unholy relationship with the world. Don’t you know that flirting with the world’s values places you at odds with God? Whoever chooses to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy!”
Verse 2 says jealous people will begin to see themselves as better than others, and this is why such people tend to bring others down and attempt to bring selfish attention to themselves. Sometimes, even spouses become jealous of one another, and one may bring the other down continuously. But a clear sign of a person who continuously argues and fights shows roots of jealousy. Rather than a holy relationship with God through the fruit of Holy Spirit, such people continue to have an unholy relationship with the world through the cord of jealousy and bitterness.
Examine yourself and hear the indirect hints! Stop plugging your ears and stuffing it with more selfish ear wax!
Pastor Steve Kim