James 4:2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.
When James speaks of the act of killing here, we must refer back to the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus was talking about murder (Matthew 5:21-22). Jesus makes it very clear that being angry with someone will be judged in the same manner as killing someone in the spirit of the Law. James was referring to murder and an entire gambit of sins leading up to that act, hate, anger, bitterness, hostility, animosity, to name just a few.
There are times that someone will see a neighbor or friend that has something that they desire. If one does not attain this coveted prize, it will lead to jealousy, which will morph into quarrels and fighting. A yearning or longing for something does not mean that what we lust after will be ours. We can set our hearts on any fashionable or popular widget we run across; this does not mean that the gadget or worldly doohickey will be ours for the wanting. If we make worldly success, fame, or fortune our ultimate goal in this life, we will never find total fulfillment. The reason for this is when we begin our accumulation of as much gold and silver we can amass, there will never be enough. We will find ourselves running around on the proverbial hamster wheel, running like crazy but never getting anywhere (Acts 20:33; Galatians 5:16).
When one attempts to acquire all the wealth their heart desires, it will lead to more and more manipulation to get what we believe we deserve. It will result in a belief that to build ourselves up, we must tear others down and that another’s failure will mean our success. As a result, worldly and carnal people, including carnal Christians, will attempt to place their faith and trust in themselves instead of trusting God, who will provide all of our needs in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19; Hebrews 11:6).
The resolve for this lust, covetousness, and envy is a life centered in Christ Jesus and guided by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, through the direction of the Holy Word of God, along with a consecrated prayer life with service to God and others (John 16:24). God will provide for all of our needs when we are focused on meeting the needs of others above ourselves. The honoring and dedicatory giving and supply from God apply to those who give back to God and others sacrificially. All of our essentials and necessities will come to those that believe that God will supply our every need and places their faith and trust in the knowledge that God will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5; Joshua 1:5).
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