The King of Our Desires

Does this verse instruct us how to get things from God? Is this some sort of secret way to ask God for things like a child does when sitting on the lap of Santa Claus. Viewing this verse as such misses the blessing of what it means to delight one’sself in God. Today we will look at the challenge of desires and then look at the blessing of learning to truly desire what God desires.

James 4:1-10

James 4:1–10 ESV

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 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. 5 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”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

This important exhortation comes from James. In his letter, he encouraged the believers to faithfully endure the challenges of various trials and test. The outside culture presented one area of testing for the church. They needed to stand against the influence of culture and stand firm in the midst of persecution. But the church faced more challenges. The first area of testing was within themselves. All personal desires needed to be evaluated in light of their new identity in Christ because not every natural desire aligned with the will of God. And when facing tempting situations, the believer could not reason that God was the author of temptation. The source of temptation occured within their flesh. Like the wild tongue that needed to be tamed, so too did the natural desires of the human experience.

The remaining area of testing occured from being in the environment of relationship. Some temptations occur more when you are in a group. (It is hard to create a traffic jam when you are the only driver on the road). J

James words of wisdom apply to every group of believers who gather together in the name of Christ. The church is God’s design. He saves individuals and places them in a family. He does this so they can mutually encourage each other and allow the naturally occuring friction to bring about new areas of maturity. In order to mature, we will need to keep our desires in line with God’s realm.

Desire that Dominates

In the early part of his letter, James pointed out the problem with favoritism, which will always cause problems within a community. But in chapter four he focused on the issue of personal desire. Desire is not such a bad word. But in Jame’s letter, he describes desire that has moved from God’s good realm into sin. In chapter 1 he described how people’s natural desire is the source for temptation. Why did Adam and Eve give into temptation? They had God-given desires for food and they could eat any fruit of the trees in the garden, except one. Alongside the natural desire for life sustaining and pleasing provision is the subtle desire for things that God has commanded us to avoid. Genesis 3:6

Genesis 3:6 ESV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

The desire for wisdom was offered in the eating of the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve could not blame God or the other person for their sin. All that God created was good, and being a good God included giving the the potential to obey or disobey His good will. What started out as a good desire turned into a desire that dominated their actions and led to disobedience.

James addresses the root cause of the struggle within the church. It is the same struggle that humanity has faced. It is the temptation of evil desires. In chapter 4, he continues but uses a different term for desire. This term has in mind personal pleasures. The root of interpersonal struggle comes from our preference for personal desires.

James What Is the Fighting Really About? (4:1)

We get into fights because of pleasures we desire for ourselves. An important self-examining question for Christians in conflict is “What personal desire am I trying to protect or to gain?”

James (What Is the Fighting Really About? (4:1))

James does not specify examples of the desires. What he does say could refer to conflict in group relationships, such as within a church: inflexibility about issues (from a desire to have one’s own way), maneuvering for position of authority (from a desire for status and admiration within the community) or criticizing others (from a desire to make oneself look good). It is equally applicable in individual relationships, such as a marital conflict: constantly exchanging hurtful words (from a desire to get even) or carrying out sexual infidelity (from a desire for selfish pleasure or simply a desire for another spouse). All of these happen in Christian churches and Christian marriages; they are all immoral.

The wise person who examines their heart will recognize that our desires will cause us to have to take a side. The wise believer will let their desires loose the battle and submit to the victory of God’s desires. Since it is a battle, it will not be easy, but it will produce the will of God in your life. Your desires will only produce more of your will.

Desire that Deceives

James points out that our desires can be a powerful enemy when following Christ. Sinful desire can also deceive us. We can believe the lies of desire, namely that we will be satisfied when we get what we want. Like an itch that is scratched, sinful desire inspires more itching and scratching. Scratching may satisfy the "itch" temporarily, but it is often destructive. James describes how this destructive "scratching" harms the community of believers. The believers who put their desires first became harmful to others. The people who were causing quarrels pursued their desires at the expense of others. Because a person lacked what they desired, they pursued murder. Because they coveted what they could not obtain, they pursued arguing and fighting. Personal desire caused more harm.

Sinful desires can also affect how one views God. James reprimands their solutions. Instead of going to God to ask for His will and provisions, they forcefully imposed their desires on others. And when they finally did the Christian thing to approach God in prayer, their prayers were overwhelmingly selfish. This path of distorted desires led them away from God and into idolatry. What was this idol? It was the "god of their desires" rather than the God they should desire. In essence, they became friends of the world instead of friends of God. (The world: the patterns of human life contrary to God's will.)

We may be surprised how a seemingly minor issue like human desire can develop into an anti-God situation. Such is the nature of sin. It may start out as a slight deviation from God's will, but as it progresses, it will increasingly create distance between God and us. What makes this discussion of desires interesting is that the desire occurs within the realm of Christian fellowship, the church. How could Christians become to be like this? Let’s look at a situation in the Old Testament that is an example of Jame’s teaching.

The King of Our Desires

1 Samuel 8:1–9 ESV

1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

This is a curious story. During the time of Samuel, God had appointed judges to guide the people of Israel in the promised land. Typically, when the people had a good judge, they faithfully followed God. Without a judge, they typically wandered into sin. Samuel was the current judge for Israel and he appointed his two sons to take his place. But his sons were corrupt.

Legitimate desires before God are acceptable

The elders and the people recognized that they desired good future leadership since Samuel would not always be around. However, Samuel’s sons were evil. When it came to justice, they accepted bribes for a price. The people had a legitimate complaint and desire, which they brought to Samuel. Something needed to change.

A desire to have or be something God has not blessed will lead us astray

The primary issue with their request was revealed in the following phrases , “that we may be like the other nations”. In wanting to be like the other nations, they ultimately rejected God’s desires and plan for their lives. They wanted a solution to the problem that resembled the world rather than God’s prescription. God knew their hearts well and concluded that this seemingly honest desire and request was motivated by a straying heart. They wanted their will to be done more than God’s.

If we consider James words, we see how something simple as a legitimate desire can become something that brings about a rejection of God and complications within the community. God warned them and let them experience the foolishness of their choices. Herein lies our need to take our legitimate desires and needs and allow God to direct the solution. Let’s go back to James to see what we need to do to check our desires before God.

Desire that draws near to God

James reprimands the people with harsh words. He points out that their selfish desires for sin and their preference leads them to be adulterous friends of the world and enemies of God. God would be just to leave us to our sinful choices and desires but He gives “more grace”. What is this grace? Of course it is Jesus Christ and the opportunity to repent and confess our sins. Humility is the path for appropriating God’s grace. James us that humility means submitting ourselves to God and resisting the influential lies of the devil. James encourages us to draw near to God. The only way we can draw near to God is through Jesus the Messiah. When we draw near to our holy God, we must do through by having our sins cleansed. In order to be cleansed from sins, we must admit that we are stained by it. The beauty about drawing near to God is that He requires us to not only be cleansed but to now live in purity of words and desires toward each other.

The Need for Self-examination in the coming months

The next weeks and months are going to pose a challenge to us. No matter how mature we are in Christ, we will most likely feel the effects of transition in leadership. As a church, we have a legitimate need and desire for God to help us in the interim process. The desires for good leadership and decisions are good things to desire. But let me give you some words of wisdom from James. Be careful not to let your legitimate desires, needs, and concerns become turn into unchecked personal desires. When we take legitimate concerns and make them personal issues, we open ourselves to deviating directions. James pointed out that much of our quarrels and fighting come from our sinful desires and demands for personal desires. If we are tempted to act in this manner, we may need to check our hearts and ask the following?

Am I frustrated, disappointed, hurt, or unsatisfied because I have made myself the center of the issue rather than the glory of God and the unity of fellowship?

Is the thing that has me unsettled a scriptural issue or something that has triggered hurts and issues from my past that I need God’s grace to address?

Am I truly desiring what God has declared to be His desires?

Delight yourself in the Lord

Psalm 37:4 ESV

4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

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