James 3:13-18

[nephilimiyr]

James 3:13-16, Who is wise and understanding among you? let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

I've probably read these verses hundreds of times but the other day when I was reading them I felt a real tug at my heart. I've been struggling with a certain old sin that I was afraid was going to become a habit of mine again. It's basically on how I look at people I know and who seem to have it all, but it has a little more to do with it than just that.

When I read what James was saying here about "bitter envy" it seemed to jump off the page at me and it got stuck in my mind. Then when I read verse 16 and how it says that bitter envy is where we will find disorder and every kind of evil practise I became convicted.

I just wanted to share that because this has brought me to repentance and has helped me greatly. I hope and pray it will help others as well.

 

[justified]

Good for you!

And see, no great amount of study was required for this passage!

 

[nephilimiyr]

Good for you!

And see, no great amount of study was required for this passage!

LOL, no there wasn't, just me opening myself up to the word.

 

[WAB]

James 3:13-16, Who is wise and understanding among you? let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

I've probably read these verses hundreds of times but the other day when I was reading them I felt a real tug at my heart. I've been struggling with a certain old sin that I was afraid was going to become a habit of mine again. It's basically on how I look at people I know and who seem to have it all, but it has a little more to do with it than just that.

When I read what James was saying here about "bitter envy" it seemed to jump off the page at me and it got stuck in my mind. Then when I read verse 16 and how it says that bitter envy is where we will find disorder and every kind of evil practise I became convicted.

I just wanted to share that because this has brought me to repentance and has helped me greatly. I hope and pray it will help others as well.

So often Christians relegate repentance to a compartment in their thinking processes that deals only with the unsaved.

But some of the greatest blessings a true believer can experience is when he/she repents of a certain action (or thought process) that the Lord convicts us of.

And of course that repentance (change of mind) then leads, or consists of, taking 1John 1:9 for what it so plainly says, and being restored to genuine fellowship.

Thank you for being honest... first of all of course with the Lord, but also with we who are blessed by it... p.s. was hoping to put a smiley in there, but none available... at least to this non-techie under "edit."

 

[nephilimiyr]

So often Christians relegate repentance to a compartment in their thinking processes that deals only with the unsaved.

But some of the greatest blessings a true believer can experience is when he/she repents of a certain action (or thought process) that the Lord convicts us of.

And of course that repentance (change of mind) then leads, or consists of, taking 1John 1:9 for what it so plainly says, and being restored to genuine fellowship.

Thank you for being honest... first of all of course with the Lord, but also with we who are blessed by it... p.s. was hoping to put a smiley in there, but none available... at least to this non-techie under "edit."

Thank you WAB, I'm glad you've been blessed by my post. I agree what you had to say about repentance and it is something that we have to work on daily. It's not something we do once and just forget about. Sometimes a change in the way you think or do things takes time, after all and for me anyway, this was more or less a mindset that I have had since I can remember. it's easy to walk around and say you don't think this way anymore but certain situations pop up that try to get me to think this way again and it can be hard to suppress those thoughts and feelings.

 

[humbledbyhim]

Thank you WAB, I'm glad you've been blessed by my post. I agree what you had to say about repentance and it is something that we have to work on daily. It's not something we do once and just forget about. Sometimes a change in the way you think or do things takes time, after all and for me anyway, this was more or less a mindset that I have had since I can remember. it's easy to walk around and say you don't think this way anymore but certain situations pop up that try to get me to think this way again and it can be hard to suppress those thoughts and feelings.

when i went to see if what you had typed was what the verses said word-for -word, i glanced over the words. however, the power of the words hit me and i went to read it again so that i could internalize those scriptures. what I get from the verses is that we should seek to avoid strife and envy because they only lead to hate, but by responding to strife and envy with love, we can eliminate all envy and strife.