You Can’t Be Both

James 4:4-5 (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. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?


Explanation:

There were certain car rules growing up in my family that you always obeyed. Things like: don’t kick the back of your parents’ seat, don’t ask “are we there yet!?!,” and don’t roll down your windows when the A/C is on. That last one was a biggie. I never understood that one as a kid, but I understand it now as an adult! Opening the windows when you are trying to cool the car down not only lets the cold air out, but also lets the warm air in. It truly defeats the purpose of having the air conditioner on in the first place.

This was the first thought I had as I started to process today’s scripture. If someone is trying to become more like Christ while simultaneously trying to become more like the world, they are going to encounter many troubles. If we were to back up and read James 3, you would get an idea of what he is referring to when he says the “world”. In a nutshell, James is talking about the way that someone lives, and the wisdom and methods they use to find life. The majority of the time, these are not the ways that God says lead to true life. It makes complete sense, then, for James to say that one would easily become an enemy of God when trying to be like the world because God would not be the focus. It is likely that someone would actually live in opposition to the way God determines is best.

Like the A/C being sucked out a window of a car, to become connected to the world would undoubtedly work against one’s pursuit of becoming more like Christ. They do not play nice together. This is precisely why God is adamantly opposed to anyone becoming a “friend” of the world and its ways. He is not saying don’t love and care for the people who are not in relationship with Him, but He is saying don’t let the ways of the world pull you away from Him. God loves being connected with us and knows that what is best for us is a life in relationship with Him. He wants that for us now and for all of eternity, and despises anything that would jeopardize that.


Action Steps:

Write down and complete the following phrases:

a. I have become a friend of the world by (fill in the blank).

b. Befriending the world in this way pulls my heart away from loving God because (fill in the blank).

c. To choose the way of God in this area would look like (fill in the blank).


Prayer:

Lord, it is very easy to befriend the world. My heart can easily get pulled away if I am not careful to seek You. Holy Spirit, reveal to me the ways I have befriended the world, and give me wisdom to see how it pulls my heart away from loving You. Show me how I can better walk in the ways that You have for me. Amen.