“THE ROOT OF HUMAN CONFLICT”

1 “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.”

James 4:1-2

It only takes two people to have an irreconcilable conflict. The same can be said of nations. Wars between states are the result of two basic human issues: selfishness and greed. Man, outside of God’s guidance, is not innately good. While he has the capacity to do good, his heart is also filled with impurity. Now, all conflicts start at the heart level, specifically, the desire to assert one’s desires.

In today’s passage, James talks about the root cause of conflicts between people driven by their evil cravings. Envy is in view here, which is an evil that has the potential to kill and destroy.

The word “fights” comes from the Greek term “polemos,” which refers to actual armed conflict and therefore carries a violent picture. Meanwhile, the term “quarrels” is used in literature only for battles without material weapons and refers more to angry disputes.

The word “passions” comes from the Greek term “hedone,” “desires for pleasure.” James is speaking to a group of people who are envious and filled with selfish ambition, which results in disorder. In fact, their discord led to fighting.

James is addressing an issue that is outright evil. It is not a simple disagreement between brothers and sisters, but an evil, unspiritual dispute. This is a serious crime that requires a serious response. This passage will help us gain a better understanding of how conflicts start and how damaging they can be.

The big lesson here is that when we desire pleasure more than God, conflict is inevitable. The reference does not mean literal murder, but rather a hyperbole. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses murder as an exaggeration for hatred. Therefore, hating and coveting are at the very core of human conflict.

When we do not get what we want, we are driven to anger. And that rage finds an object. We don’t get what we want because our methods of acquiring it are wrong. Wanting something isn’t necessarily evil. But we have to consider what we do to get it. Coveting or taking something that belongs to someone else by force is never the Christian way. The only way to satisfy our desires is to delight ourselves in God.

Pursue the Savior today!