PERSPECTIVE

What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.  

James 4:1-4 (NLT)

You don’t have to teach newborns how to be possessive or jealous. They figure it out pretty early on, all on their own. We’ve all seen a child snatch a precious toy away from another child—it’s not pretty. The screams of mine may die down as they get older, but underneath it all, there’s still strong possessiveness over what is ours.

And yet, everything we have is given to us by God. Sometimes, we lose sight of this simple truth. Every blessing in our lives came to us from Him (see James 1:18). And yet instead of living a life of gratitude, thanking God for what He has given to us, we often are fueled by bitterness and jealousy, fixated on what someone else has that we don’t.

Think about social media. It can be a wonderful tool for connection, yes. But it can also be a pit you tumble into—looking at everyone else’s perfect life. You see their happy family, pictures from exotic locales, maybe their new big purchase. You start to wonder why what you have isn’t as great as what they have. Beware the doom scrolling that fuels our jealousy.

James tells us that, ultimately, we don’t have what we want because we don’t ask. How simple is that? We can ask God for what we want—He longs to bless us! It’s all too easy to try to work for what you want, leaving God completely out of the equation. This is an exhausting, ultimately fruitless way to live. But there is an important factor—our motives. James mentions that our motives matter. We tend to fixate on things that will bring us pleasure rather than things that will bring God pleasure.

Let’s ask God to make our motives His motives. Let’s ask Him to give us a heart for what He is passionate about. And as He continues to make us more and more like Him, a process called sanctification, let’s ask Him to give us the desires of His heart. Because then our desires will be aligned!

APPLICATION: Where are you struggling with envy, bitterness or jealousy? Ask God to change your heart on this. Then, spend some time thanking Him for all that you do have. Seek to align your desires with His.

PRAYER: God, thank You for everything You’ve blessed me with. I don’t deserve it, but You are a gracious God. Help me not to become bogged down by focusing on what I don’t have. Transform my heart more and more each day so that my desires would line up with Yours. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)

• What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
 

“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)

• What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
 

“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)

• Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
 

“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)

• Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
 

“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)

• Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
 

“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)

• Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?