Resist Strife, Submit Yourselves to God

Good Morning!! Grudges, petty differences, and personality clashes will tear at your church, just as it does personal relationships. They can even diminish your own love for the Lord, and His people,...as sides are picked, and strife in the church run free. Where do such body-breaking, unity-shredding difficulties come from? James answers rhetorically: the problems among you, come from problems within you. Wars in the church, as with wars in relationships, result from unsuccessful wars inside our soul, James says. The strife and tension comes because of our unchecked desire for personal gain and pleasure.

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?—James 4:1 (NIV)

Use James' answer sheet to check, yourself. Does the bitterness in your heart come from pure motives and a selfless spirit, or does it come from wanting to get your own way? Have your words sought to edify and build up others, or have they been tools to tweak your own agenda? The writer of Proverbs observes: "Only by pride cometh contention" (13:10), and James echoes that assessment. When we seek our own happiness and put ourselves first, the inevitable result is a clash with anyone who gets in our way. 

Regardless of what genuine offenses or real grievances you may have suffered, surrender your case to Christ, pray for those who have opposed or injured you, and refuse to be drawn into a war with others,...especially in the church.

Holy Spirit, help us to let go of any and all grudges and petty difference. Let nothing get in the way of our love of the Lord, or the people He's placed in our life. Amen.

"Genuine love is not just a feeling,...it's a decision to endure, even if others don't understand why."