Well, it has been a little over three months since I began reading in James. It started as a family reading and reflection as we shared once a week what God had been teaching us through His Word. After that was done (a month or so) I couldn’t stop. I kept reading and rereading the lessons and principles God wanted me to learn and ponder upon. These ponderings can be found in prior posting.
I have spent the last part of my pondering on chapter 4. Here James is addressing the issues of self-centeredness and humility. Our goal in life is not to be filled with the “I want so I can do my thing” but rather our attitude should be “God with this resource I could do this for others.” When we ask God for things, His response seems to be tied to the motive or reason why we are asking.
When it comes to our relationships to God and to others humility seems to be key. We are to humble ourselves before God so that He can lift us up. I think that this humility should carry over to our relationship with others also. How many conflicts could be avoided if we simple humbled ourselves to others. Now I am not talking about being a door mat, but there are times when our pride gets in the way of working through a problem.
As I reflect back the key idea that transformed me the most was found in James 1:26-27 where James addresses what “true religion” is. It is about serving others and tending to our spiritual well being (really loving God).
This is what I am taking away from my time in James. I have incorporated this into my personal life platform as an operational belief and working through the core value(s) this represents in my life. I am acting on if, because if we don’t act on what we say has transformed us, then I would question if we truly have been transformed.