"Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil" James 3:16.
-I like the saying that jealousy comes from counting someone else's blessings instead of your own. There have been times when I have seen someone's blessings, and I become selfish by being jealous that I was not "good enough to deserve such a benefit". Jealousy and selfishness are twins.
"But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy" James 3:17.
-There is so much to aspire to be in this verse. Pure: good, clean, kind. Peaceful: mediator, calm, optimistic. Gentle: soft, soothing, honest nicety. Friendly: welcoming, inviting, uplifting, investing, caring. Compassion that come from God's word must be the foundation to these attributes or they will not be sincere. Not judging, not lying, not self-seeking, not favoring.
"And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself" James 3:6.
-Choose words carefully, speak honestly, speak boldly, speak truthfully, speak kindly.
"My friends, as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, you must never treat people in different ways according to their outward appearance" James 2:1 GNT
"My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?" James 2:1 NLT
-When I read this verse before, I connected the word appearance with attire. Now, I connect appearance with conduct. It is difficult for me to have empathy for people who cry for attention. Because of people in my past, my first response is to avoid these people.. in that way they give me the least amount of trouble. A common thread between these people is that they are usually never satisfied and they tend to suck the life out of people they want the attention from.
I know I favor "normal" people over these people who cry for attention.. I have had such bad experiences with people like this in my life that I have a habit of writing them off as crazy. Honestly, a lot of them have been. But, not all are. Crazy or not, favoring others over these people is still ungodly.
James has always been one of my favorite books of the bible. It's only five chapters, but it's deep. When I read James again, it always seems like there is something in James I have forgotten.
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