James 4:2 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.
“I want it my way, and I want it now.” This is the way the world thinks. This competitiveness is what drives the marketplace. People will go to great lengths to get what they want, even murder. Most often, murder is about getting one’s way. Murder is different than killing. Killing can be accidental. Murder is intentional. Murder will secure what a person wants, but this possession may be temporary if authorities catch the murderer. Coveting desires the same end as murder but does not go as far. It does not take the life of the one who is blocking a person from getting what he or she wants. Both come from the same broken and self-centered heart. What is different between murdering and coveting? They result in almost the same thing. Murdering is the loss of life. Coveting brings fights and quarrels. Both of these are the result of misguided desires. Jesus pinpointed the problem in Matthew 15:19: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” James implies that part of the problem is frustration from not getting our way. We go about the answer to our problems the wrong way. We do not seek God first (Matthew 6:33) but rely on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). We do not have because we do not ask. Taking God out of the picture sends us down a road that could eventually lead to coveting and even murder. Those who covet and murder start of their journey at the same place: rejecting God or the light that God provides. We must look deeply within our hearts to reflect on Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
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