Philip Dampier's Blog

Chapter 4, Verse 4 “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.”

Don’t you just love the way James cuts to the heart of the matter? Adulterous people! This is an insult. He is talking to Christians not heathens. I’m sure they had not been viewing themselves in that light. Part of our problem a lot of the times is that we refuse to see ourselves as we truly are. We judge our actions by our set of standards instead of God’s. How many Christians have gone down this road of thinking they could live away from the world, but still be a part of the world?

God is a jealous God and that is not new news James is bringing. For the Christian there can be no some of earth and some of heaven. The Christian makes a grave mistake if he/she thinks they can serve God and enjoy the fruits of the world. No way! The world and God are at odds. The world is an enemy of God and those who choose the world and its ways align themselves against God. James says it true; be a friend of the world and you make yourself God’s enemy.

Task for Today: Face it dear friends, we have to choose. Either God or this world but not both. Look around you and see what you have surrounded yourself with. Number your friends who are, and those who aren’t, children of God. Check your daily calendar. What do you spend your time doing, watching, hearing? Is it Godly things or worldly things?