For the Audio Version on YouTube click here - James 4:11-17
For the Audio Version on SoundCloud, click here - James 4:11-17
James
4:11-12
11 Do not speak
evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges
his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the
law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There
is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are
you to judge another?
In continuation of
his addressing the issue of conflict, which he said, stemmed from a desire for
worldly pleasures, James goes on to address a very connected issue - speaking
ill of one another – a problem that existed in the church back then, as it does
even today. He begins by telling his readers to not speak ill of one another,
and he uses the word ‘brethren,’ as if to remind them that they all belong to
one family of God.
He then goes on to
give reasons why we should not speak ill of one another, and adds another
aspect that is connected with it, which is concerning judging one another. The
first reason he gives why we should not speak ill of one another and judge one
another is because if we do so, we are indirectly speaking ill of, and judging
the law as well. How is that so? Just like he said earlier that when we show
partiality, we are breaking the royal law, which says that we should love our neighbour
as we love ourselves, he makes the same connection here too. If we speak ill
of, or judge one another, we are in effect saying that we disagree with the law
that tells us to love one another and we are setting ourselves up against the
law itself.
Let’s keep in
mind, when he talks about the law, he’s talking about the law of
liberty/freedom, that he referred to earlier, which refers to the law of love
which now enables us to live the way God wants us to live. It does not mean
that we are permitted to live as we wish but rather how God desires we live. So
if we choose to disobey that law and slander one another and pass judgments on
one another, then instead of us abiding by this law, of love and freedom, we are
actually breaking this law and taking the place of judges and judging, not only
one another but also the law of God, that was meant to teach us to live in
harmony, and not in conflict.
He goes on to
remind them and us, that there is One Lawgiver, referring to God, and adds that
it is He alone who is able to save us or destroy us. We do not, and will never
have the authority over anyone’s life. He then concludes this thought with the
question, “Who are you to judge another?”
We are all called to be subject to God’s authority to judge, and not make
anyone else subject to our authority and judge them, and if we do so, it begs
the question, “Who do we think we are?”
or in other words, “Who gave us this
authority to speak ill of others, or to judge them?”
James 4:11-17
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we
will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a
profit”; 14 whereas
you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your
life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes
away. 15 Instead
you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and
do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such
boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does
not do it, to him it is sin.
James
then goes on to address another issue, which pertains to the uncertainty of
this earthly life and how we need to always bear this in mind. He begins by
referring to those who boastfully talk about their plans to go places, settle
down for a while and make money, and reminds them that they cannot really be sure
that their plans will succeed - not on account of the nature of their plans,
but rather on account of the uncertainty of
this earthly life. He reminds his readers (and us) that we do not know
what will actually happen the next day.
He
goes on to describe the nature of this earthly life – no matter how long it
might seem, at the end of the day, it’s like a vapour that appears for a little
while and then disappears. This analogy of vapour was as powerful and relevant
to them in their day as it is for us today. Vapour appears and then disappears
in a few seconds, and that’s how this earthly life is too.
So
given the nature of this life here on earth, he suggests that we change the way
we talk about plans we make in life. He tells us to submit all our plans to God
instead, and work accordingly. If God wills (desires) that we go to a place,
spend time there, do business there, make money there, then we do so. It’s
really important that we pray about every decision we take in life.
Today
we travel for a lot more reasons than at the time this letter was being
written. Then the travels were mostly related to business, but today, purposes
of travel are so varied - education, vacation, business, world tours,
performance, sports, music, art, exhibitions, conferences, training, etc.
Though it’s important we make plans to do all of the above, we need to always
subject our plans to God’s will, and talk the same way about our plans.
James
says that if we refer to our plans without acknowledging the will of God in our
decisions, we are then being boastful and arrogant, thinking that we are in
total control of our lives, and therefore don’t need God to guide us. He calls
such boasting evil because it is in total rebellion of God’s control over our
lives.
He
then concludes his writing on this issue with the words, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it
is sin.” By this, he means, that if we know how to submit our lives to God’s
authority and seek His guidance in everything we do, but we choose to not do
so, but rather choose to live our lives as we wish, then we would be committing
sin. If we don’t know how to do good and so we don’t do it, we can be excused,
but if we know how to do good and we don’t do it, then we are going against our
own beliefs and we are sinning against God.
If you were blessed by this study, kindly share it with others
Michael Collins
Comments
Post a Comment