Hedonism, Hostility, Humility

I was reading the book of James from the Maxwell Leadership Bible recently on problem solving.  Problems in life are often related to people problems.  In particular, James addresses the issue of human pride and lust in chapter 4 that causes fights and quarrels.

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?  You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.  You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Jas 4:1-4 (NASB)

When our own self-centred desires (hedonism) are not fulfilled, it often results in hostility against others and God.  The story of Sodom's depravity is a good case in point (Gen 19).  The men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and wanted to fulfill their own sexual lusts with the visiting angels in Lot's house.  They demanded that Lot bring them out.  Because Lot refused them, they became hostile to such an extent that they would have broken down the door of his house and invaded their privacy had the angels not intervened.   Such attitudes are quite common nowadays when hedonistic desires are not being fulfilled and people resort to vehement violent means to get their own ways.  Let's check our own attitudes in life in this area, lest we fall into the devil's trap.

The way of the world and of the devil is to resort to hostility.  To be a friend of the world is to be God's enemy.  Lucifer fell because of pride and became the devil.  James says that God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble (Jas 4:6).  The cure therefore for human conflict is to submit (humble) ourselves to God and resist the devil.  If we do not take a stand against the devil, he would be more than happy to continue feeding our ego with pride so that we can fulfill our carnal desires.  On the other hand, if we lament, mourn and weep over our sins, we will find that our souls would be healed and God would lift us up, which is very much different from being lifted up in pride (Jas 4:7-10).  I would rather that God lift me up than me lifting myself up.