Bible Breakdown...James 3:16

This is something I've been thinking about since Sunday night, and even more recently since yesterday: we as Christians should avoid strife at ALL costs. Why? The answer can be found in the book of James.

"For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work."

 - James 3:16 (KJV)

Brent and I volunteer with our church's altar care ministry, and one of our group leaders was teaching at our meeting Sunday night. He was encouraging us as volunteers in different areas, and began talking about the importance of walking in love at all times. He referenced this verse, stating that we as Christians ought to avoid strife at all costs because, as he put it, "when there's strife, there's the manifest presence of the devil." That really stood out to me - it gave me a lot to think about!

How often have I contributed to strife, without even considering it? How many times have I posted things on Facebook that I knew were controversial? How many times have I participated in (or even initiated) gossip? How many times have I been on a mission to prove how "right" I was? How many times have I contributed, in any way, shape or form, to strife? At home? At work? At church? With loved ones? Online? I can  pull out a few specifics from recent months (weeks...days), but I couldn't tell you how many times beyond those that I've been guilty of my fair share of strife-causing.

Thinking about this not only led me to repentance, but it also inspired me to dig a bit deeper into this particular verse and how it relates to on-purpose living. It's located towards the end of the well-known tongue-taming chapter (which is worth a read-through...and another one...and another), but I want to focus on this particular verse tonight.

(Please keep in mind: I am in no way, shape or form a Greek scholar, nor do I pretend to or want to be. I simply love to go a bit deeper in Bible study, and Blue Letter Bible helps me do that - check it out if you never have!)

"Strife" comes from the Greek word eritheia, which means, "a desire to put oneself forward." This word stems from another Greek word, erethizō, which means, "to stir up, stimulate, to provoke." Many other translations translate strife as "selfish ambition" or "selfishness." The Message translation of James 3:16 puts it perfectly: 

"Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, 

things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats." 

And that's what it really is, isn't it? Wanting to look better than others. We want to be right, to be superior, to promote ourselves. We try to cover it with an array of excuses (personality, self-confidence, "my personal opinion is," and so forth), but let's just call it what it is: pride! Plain and simple. We want our voice to be heard, in some way or another. (I may take "wanting my voice to be heard" a bit more literally than some.) The Message translation of this verse really hits home for me because this (pride) is one of my biggest problems! I've been guilty of trying to prove I'm right, of using my body language to let people know that I think they're inferior to me in some way, and of straight-up Pharisaism. 

Real Christlike, huh?

But what's the point of self-promotion as a Christian? Answer: there isn't one! No wonder everything falls apart when selfish ambition exists in the life of a believer - it's the exact opposite of what our purpose here is! It is always, always, always about HIM. His Kingdom. His glory. His people. His plan. His Word.

I have to remember that it's never, ever about me. I'm dead to myself - it's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me! My personal opinions don't matter in the grand scheme of things. In fact, in my desire to live every day of my life on purpose - the purpose of sharing and spreading the Gospel of Jesus! - every day is an opportunity to grow more and more into the likeness of Christ, and that includes making His "opinions" mine. It includes walking in love at all times, and that means NEVER causing or engaging in strife! It means avoiding strife at all costs.

And yes...I absolutely believe it's possible to walk in love at all times. I believe it's absolutely possible to avoid strife at all costs! Is it easy to do? Not by ourselves it isn't! But that's the beauty - we don't ever have to do it by ourselves! I have LOVE HIMSELF...PEACE HIMSELF, living on the inside of me, and if you're a Christian, you do too!

Will we fail at this from time to time? Sure we will, because we're human. But we can grow, develop and increase in this area daily by spending time with Him, inviting Him into our day-to-day lives, and staying sensitive to His voice throughout our day.

Do that, and I guarantee you - it'll be more and more difficult to not walk in love as you grow up in Him!