At War with Each Other (James 4:1a & 11–12)

How To Stop Wars
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Have you ever heard of the "War of the Oaken Bucket" or the "War of the Whiskers"? What about "The War of Jenkins' Ear"? You can read about these real wars between countries in most history books.

Even though there are treaties, world peace groups, and the threat of atomic bombs, war is still a part of life. There are wars between countries, but there are also wars of all kinds at almost every level of life, even "gas wars" between gas station owners!

James talked about the importance of war in this paragraph. He said that there are three wars going on right now. He also talked about how to stop these wars.

At War with Each Other (4:1a, 11–12)

"From whence come wars and fightings among you?" For Christians! “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps. 133:1). Surely brethren should live together in love and harmony, yet often they do not. Lot and his uncle Abraham fought (Gen. 13). Absalom started a war for his father David (2 Sam. 13–18). The disciples even caused trouble for the Lord when they fought over who was the best in the kingdom (Luke 9:46–48).

You can see that some of the early churches had their share of problems when you look at them. In their public meetings, the people in the Corinthian church were fighting with each other and even suing each other in court (1 Cor. 6:1–8; 14:23–40). The Galatian Christians were "biting and devouring" each other (Gal. 5:15). Paul had to tell the Ephesians to work on their spiritual unity (Eph. 4:1–16), and even his favorite church in Philippi had problems: two women couldn't get along (Phil. 4:1–3).

James talked about a few different types of disagreements that the saints had.

Class wars (2:1–9). This is the long-standing fight between the rich and the poor. People pay attention to the rich man, but not the poor man. The wealthy individual is esteemed, whereas the impoverished individual is shamed. It's sad when churches in the area get their values mixed up and only help the rich while ignoring or even turning away the poor. If clothing and money are what keep people from getting along in a church, then the church is not following God's will.

Wars over jobs (5:1–6). Once more, the rich man has the power to hurt and control the poor man. Workers don't get paid, or they don't get paid what they deserve. Even though we have a modern labor movement and federal laws, there are still a lot of people who can't find a good job or who don't make enough money for the work they do.

Church fights (1:19–20; 3:13–18). It seems that the people James wrote to were fighting each other for positions in the church, with many of them wanting to be teachers and leaders. When they studied the Word, it didn't help them grow; instead, it caused fights and arguments. Everyone thought that their ideas and ways were the only right ones. Not spiritual submission, but selfish ambition ruled their meetings.

Personal wars (4:11–12). The saints were talking bad about each other and judging each other. Once again, we see someone using their tongue the wrong way. Christians should tell the truth in love (Eph. 4:15); they shouldn't say bad things about others out of jealousy or criticism. If the truth about a brother is harmful, we should cover it in love and not say it again (1 Peter 4:8). If he has sinned, we should go to him and try to win him back (Matt. 18:15–19; Gal. 6:1–2).

James did not prohibit us from employing discrimination or assessing individuals. Christians should be able to tell right from wrong (Phil. 1:9–10), but they shouldn't judge others like God does. We need to look at our own lives before we can help others (Matt. 7:1–5). We never know everything about a case, and we definitely don't know what people are thinking. It is a sin against a brother and against God to speak ill of him and judge him based on incomplete evidence and (likely) unkind motives. We are not judges; only God is. He is patient and kind, and His judgments are fair and holy. We can trust Him to handle the situation.

It's sad that the saints are fighting each other, with leaders fighting leaders, churches fighting churches, and fellowships fighting fellowships. People all over the world see these religious wars and say, "Look how much they hate each other!" Jesus prayed, "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (John 17:21).

But why are we fighting each other? We are all part of the same family, trust the same Savior, and have the same Holy Spirit living in us, but we still fight. Why? James answered this question by talking about the second war that is going on.