The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
We are almost at the end of James’ letter to the “twelve tribes.” Throughout his letter, James talks about what it means to be a righteous person.
A righteous person considers trials to be a joy. He knows that testing leads to perseverance, and perseverance leads to maturity. A righteous person is mature in faith. They are complete.
A righteous person has the wisdom the comes from God because they have asked and not doubted. They are of a single mind, one that is devoted to the Lord.
Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.
Note: Today we return to chapter five. We have explored the forgotten verses in chapter four. James has been admonishing us to avoid making boasts about what we will do. Instead, preface every thought with, “If it is the Lord’s will… This ties in nicely with today’s passage.
What kind of swearing is James talking about? Do we still swear in the way James uses the word?
The traditional definition of “swear” is to make a solemn statement or vow promising to do something or affirming something is true. The functional definition in common use today is to express contempt with what is known as a “four-letter word.” (Sadly, the use of “swear words” has become so common that some people are hardly able to speak without using them.)
James is referring to the use of an affirmation or vow. So why would such a statement condemn us?
My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
— Proverbs 3: 11-12
Discipline is almost always a little bit painful. Not because it involves physical pain, although that is sometimes a part of discipline. Instead, it is because it is painful to see ourselves as we really are.
The whole point of discipline is to correct someone’s behavior or attitude. To do that, we have to be made aware of what we were doing wrong. Our underlying character is what determines how well we take correction.
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
What kind of person are you? Are you extremely sensitive to the people around you? Are you sent into spasms of guilt simply because someone gives you a stern look? Or, are you one of those people who need to be whacked upside the head with a 2×4 so someone can get your attention? Whatever your personality type, God has some scripture written just for you.
As I look back over James’ letter, his passion for serving God correctly is clear. His understanding of God is acute and sharply honed. His method of sharing that understanding is somewhat akin to a Marine Corps Drill Sergeant barking orders at recruits.
Some people take offense at the bluntness of James’ approach. Yet everything he says is completely in line with the rest of God’s Word. The only difference is how he says it.
Do you believe in the devil? As a kid, I remember being told “ghost stories.” Some of them were pretty scary! Some were scary and funny at the same time. All of them challenged my thinking about ghosts.
It was very common for little kids to challenge each other by saying, “You don’t believe in ghosts, do you?” It was always said in a taunting way that mocked the idea of ghosts. Many a time I agreed that I didn’t really believe in ghosts. The problem was when I was in church they were always talking about this being called the “Holy Ghost.” Everyone at church seemed to believe that the Holy Ghost was real, but … well … what was a ghost, anyway?
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.
I am beginning to see James in a new light. His mind is highly analytical. His entire letter is structured around this pattern repeated over and over again:
Problem – Analysis – Solution
What is the problem here? There are fights and quarrels among believers!
James provides his analysis: Fights and quarrels are outer reflections of the desires that battle inside you!
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
At the end of my post yesterday I asked this question: “Why is it good to be able to discern who is wise among a group of believers?”
In James’ letter, he tells us about the dangers of the tongue and the importance of taming it. I agree, and I agree that I need to tame mine first. Yet where the tongue is not reined in, James warns that it can ignite a great forest fire. It can corrupt the whole body. If it can corrupt an individual’s body can it also corrupt the church body?
You, Lord, showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins.
You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger.
This passage from Psalm 85 gives us some clues to resolving anger. In this short series of essays on anger, we defined anger as, “the feeling that results from an imbalance between our expectations and the situation we find ourselves in.”*
God expects that his Creation will recognize Him and honor Him. When this doesn’t happen God becomes angry. God says:
“Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”
— Jeremiah 25:6
Because of God’s great love for us, he provided a means for us to be redeemed from his anger. In the Old Testament, that meant dumping all the foreign gods in the Kidron Valley and submitting to God’s will. Unfortunately over the centuries, the Israelites turned their back on God so often that they made a mockery of his willingness to forgive. Instead, when the old covenant was in tatters, God formed a new covenant in his son, Jesus Christ.
Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’”
Yesterday in “Anger’s Cause” we talked a little about where anger comes from. But anger is not like a light switch. We do not simply become angry. There are many degrees of anger, just as there are many degrees of happiness.
When things in our life do not match our expectations (here I should add that we are talking about those things that are worse than what we expect) we start to become irritated. Irritation leads to frustration, and frustration can lead to anger. As we see in today’s verse, anger can range from a little angry to very angry.
Sometimes the change from happy to angry happens so fast that we miss all the warning signs along the way. And that is what irritations and frustrations are; warning signs. They tell us that there is danger ahead. If we heed the warnings, sometimes we can avoid the anger. The main point today though is that there are degrees of anger.
Where does this power for being very angry come from?
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.
— Proverbs 3: 1-2
What do you want out of life? Do you know? Are you looking for things to do that will shorten your life? Do you like to suffer? Are you the kind of person who enjoys going hungry?
Of course not!
Nobody in their right mind (and I grant you that there are people who are not in their right mind!) wants to die young. So hopefully we can agree that it is desirable to prolong life and enjoy the time in peace and prosperity.
