Verse: James 3:14-16
14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
Devotion
I think this is one of those verses that is easy to read and think, “well this is obviously about someone else.” It’s more fun to read the positive verses and assume they are about you, isn’t it?
I’ve looked at this verse for a while this morning trying to figure out what to say. I think if I had to sum up “bitter envy and selfish ambition” with one word it would be, more. Envy is being discontent with what you have, with what God has given you. Envy at its root is a lack of gratitude. It is looking at other’s stuff and saying, “I want more. I want what they have. I deserve it. Why do they have it? They don’t work as hard as me! They aren’t as kind as me!” See how the “bitter” part creeps in? Once we think we deserve more we start to get pretty bitter about not getting what we want.
Selfish ambition is, again, the lust for more. This isn’t Godly ambition. There is a good drive that God gives us that pushes us to excel in our God-given gifts in order to glorify him. This, however, is selfish ambition. It is the desire for more: more recognition, more power, more status, maybe even more false self worth.
This is the wisdom of the world: get more and you’ll be happy. Succeed and get ahead and you’ll be happy. More money. More fame. Bigger and better: houses, cars, paychecks, followers, friends, and the list goes on. This “wisdom” leads to an empty life, because no matter how much more of anything we get, it will never satisfy our deep longing for relationship with God and others. We can try to fill that void over and over again with more, but it will leave us empty on the inside.
James pulls no punches: he says this “wisdom,” this way of living, is demonic. It is clearly not the way of Jesus. In fact, according to James, more is actually less. That’s right: more is less. And his invitation, as you will find in the next verse, is to live according to heavenly wisdom, where less is more.
But in the meantime, maybe the question for today is, “how much more do I really need?” “Is my lust for more clouding my character?” Take some time this morning and ask the Lord to point out any part of your life where your lust for more needs to be reigned in.
Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, that you are enough for me in all areas of my life, and I don’t need to lust for more.
Author: Christian Dunn
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