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Understanding the Heart of Conflict: A Look at James 4:1-3
Relationships are often described as beautiful, fulfilling, and life-giving—but anyone who has spent time with other human beings knows that conflict is bound to happen. The reality is that every relationship consists of two sinners, and where sinners are involved, sin inevitably follows. This truth can be discouraging if we do not properly understand the root cause of our conflicts. Thankfully, Scripture provides clarity on this topic. One of the most relevant passages addressing the source of conflict is James 4:1-3, and in this brief article, we will explore how James’s words shed light on the conflict we often experience in our relationships. 1. Conflict Comes from Within (James 4:1a) James begins his discussion by asking a pointed question: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” (James 4:1). Notice that he pinpoints the origin of conflict…
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Egyptian Wisdom Meets the Bible: Parallels Between Amenemope and Proverbs
It often comes as a surprise to people when they realize that there are striking similarities between the content found in biblical wisdom books and certain ancient texts from surrounding cultures. Although Scripture is unique in its monotheistic worldview, there are some interesting overlaps in the Bible’s wisdom writings with other wisdom sources from polytheistic cultures. As Christians, what are we to make of these similarities? For our purposes, we can illustrate this phenomenon by comparing Proverbs with an Egyptian document called The Instruction of Amenemope, a collection of wisdom sayings that are clearly polytheistic in nature. There is a lot of thematic overlap in both. For example, both teach the concept that wealth is not everything. They also both admonish us to practice integrity and fairness in daily transactions, caution us against the fleeting nature of riches, and emphasize what we could call contentment. Here are some notable examples.…
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Swift Justice: The Biblical Importance of Timely Judgment
In a previous existence, I held a job where I was responsible for upholding the principles of fairness and accountability. And by that, I mean I was a high school swim coach. I loved swimming, and I loved helping others feel pain through swimming. I enjoyed the job immensely, but early on, I learned a valuable lesson about the necessity of timely justice. From the outset, I was basically doomed. Although I had been a swimmer myself, I really didn’t have an appropriate appreciation for the theological depravity of man. So, I developed a system where if someone broke the rules, they would have to submit themselves to pushups as punishment after practice. Breaking the rules included goofing off, ignoring commands, and the like. Well, after about 3 days of trying to implement this system, I realized it was a complete and unmitigated disaster. What happened was all fairly predictable.…
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A Mark of the Fool is Lack of Understanding
Recently, a meme was circulating on social media, which had a picture on top and on the bottom. The photo on top showed Prince William making an obscene gesture to the crowd by holding up his middle finger. We could see the disrespect and arrogance oozing from the photo. However, the image on the bottom showed a different angle of the same situation. From this new perspective, we observe that the gesture was not obscene at all. Instead, it became evident that the initial view prohibited us from seeing the other fingers. The caption for the meme read, “Seeing only one side can be very dangerous.” I like this meme because it illustrates two aspects of biblical wisdom. First, there are many scenarios where our first impressions or perceptions are incorrect. Only through gaining a complete perspective can we be sure of what we are looking at. Second, wisdom obligates…
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What Makes Jesus Happy?
Happiness is often thought of as the chief goal in life. Thus, many people assume that, as a perfect human, Jesus must have been a very happy individual. However, I don’t see Jesus being happy very often in Scripture. In fact, I can only identify two times in the gospels where Jesus is described as happy. One of those times is in John 11:15 where Jesus is happy that he was not there to save Lazarus, so that the disciples would see God’s power displayed through Jesus. The other time Jesus is happy is described in Luke 10:21, At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.” If we…
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Following the Principle of the Law
We have looked previously at the clear testimony of Scripture that the believer’s relationship to the Mosaic Law has drastically changed. In fact, because the Mosaic Law was tied to the Mosaic Covenant, when the Mosaic Covenant passed away, the believer was no longer under the Law (cf. Gal 5:18). But, yet we see Paul and the other Apostles constantly being influenced by and appealing to the Law. How can this be? It stands to reason that although the Law is no longer binding, this does not mean there is no more usefulness to the Mosaic Law. In fact, I would argue that the Mosaic Law retains its didactic purpose and helps instruct mankind how to live in light of the creation principles. In other words, the Law stops functioning as a law code, but it retains its pedagogical function, giving the Christian insight into the character of the…
