submit to God

I've been reading James. To be candid, with the upheaval of the last three weeks, my bible reading has been slacking. Its hard to focus on the Bible when I sit down in a room surrounded by boxes and things to do. Three weeks can slip away so fast and before you know it, a month is gone and you've lost your identity and your peace and your tenderness.

James 3:13 says "Who among who is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom." I use alot of excuses to behave badly: humor, liberty, personality, stress. Knowledge is not wisdom and knowing tempts me with pride that pushes all gentleness out the window.

James 4: "What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?... You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures...whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God..." He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? But He gives a greater grace, therefore it says, 'God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' Submit therefore to God." When conflicts or bad attitudes arise I don't automatically begin to think: what pleasures of the world am I after? Yet, James points to this as the source. I remember a quote by Aristotle "It is the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it." In the face of my almost automatic behavior to seek worldly pleasures (and by wordly I mean: status, knowledge, prettiness, new things) I'm heartened by God giving me a "greater" grace.

As so many things do, it comes down to this: Submit to God.

-never settle-