1 Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your pleasures that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures. 4 Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God. 5 Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 7 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.

How can war be ended forever? How eagerly this question is being asked by a world in anguish, and what various replies are being made! James proposes a more profound question: "What is the occasion of war." "Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you?" Only when the causes are removed w^ill w^ars cease to devastate and destroy. These causes, James intimates, may be found in the selfishness of the human heart, in the desire for possessions and power, and in worldly lusts. It is probable that the primary reference in this paragraph is not to wars between nations, but to the strifes and factions in the Christian Church which the writer has been rebuking. He has spoken of the abuse of the tongue and has exposed the false wisdom of the wrangling teachers; he now traces the evils to their source and shows the seriousness of their results. The latter is emphasized by the use of the words "wars" and "fightings" which are contrasted with the "peace" of true wisdom which the preceding verse has set forth. These "wars," whether between nations or individuals, are due to selfishness, or, as James says in addressing these professed Christians: "Come they not hence, even of your pleasures that war in your members?" By "pleasures" he means the love of sinful, sensuous, selfish gratifications. These "lusts" encamp in our bodily members; here first they make themselves felt, and these are the instruments they first employ. These "lusts," these unrestrained cravings, these covetous desires, may grow stronger even when not gratified, and may result in murder, at least in thought if not in act, in envy, in fighting and war: "Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war." Even prayer is resorted to as a means of securing the desired satisfaction: "Ye have not, because ye ask not"; such a mere travesty upon prayer is of course unanswered. "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that you may spend it in your pleasures"; such is a perversion of the true spirit of prayer which is submission to the will of God; here the desire is consciously opposed to his will. It is of course proper to pray for personal benefits, if these are innocent, and for material blessings if these are needed; but to ask for help in gratifying impure or sinful or selfish impulses is an impertinence and an insult to God.

In fact, it is our relation to God as professing Christians that suggests the more serious aspect of the issue of our "worldly lusts"; they not only lead us to fight and war against our fellow men, but they make us disloyal to God. This disloyalty is expressed under the Old Testament figure of "adultery": "Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?" To him we have sworn our allegiance and our fidelity; if then our heart is given to "the world" of lust and greed and indulgence, we are faithless to our most solemn vows. One must choose between God and "the world" of selfish pleasures and sin; a preference for the latter is open hostility to God: "Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God." The fault is all the greater because of God's infinite love for us. As a husband can brook no rival for the affections of his wife, God is jealous for the individual affection of his people. Love hungers for love. Is it true then, of any of us, that our affection is so alienated as to move God to envy; or that, as some have translated the phrase, "the Spirit which he made to dwell in us jealously yearns for the entire devotion of the heart?"

"But he giveth more grace," that is, the very greatness of his love leads him not to cast us off for our unfaithfulness, but to receive and to forgive us when we turn to him. Yes, this infinite love enables him to realize how strong are the attractions which draw us away, and to give us all needed grace when we humbly look to him for help: "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Be subject therefore unto God." Do not presume upon his goodness; do not weakly yield to temptation; do not expect him to keep you from falling unless you are resolute in your determination and are bravely fighting against sin. All theories of Christian experience which suggest the inactivity of the human will, and prescribe mere submission and dependence on the part of the believer, are dangerous. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." Both actions and attitudes are to be ours; neither is to be minimized nor neglected.

So common is our unfaithfulness that we may well heed, as directed to us, the solemn call to repentance with which the paragraph is brought to a close: "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded"; let us separate ourselves from all sinful alliances, let us cease from all divided allegiance and devotion. "Be afflicted, and mourn and weep": not because religion is a matter of gloom and sadness, but because we are too far tempted to miss its real joy by treating our sins lightly and failing to surrender our whole hearts to God. Some people have only enough religion to make them miserable. If we should renounce all that may be contrary to the will of God if we should make him the center of our affections, we should know in all its fullness the joy of his salvation: "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you."