Introduction
Conflicts have always plagued the church. Members fighting members. Leaders fighting leaders. Choristers fighting among themselves. Churches fighting churches.
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St. James recognizes the devastating effect of church fights. More importantly, he helps us understand what is happening inside a Christian who chooses to battle other Christians. When we fight in church, we are actually being, first of all dominated by selfish desires (verse1). St. James traces all prolonged fighting and flare-ups to an individual pursuit of self-gratification. My opponent is not my greatest enemy. The real enemy is within.
Malady
Common indicators of this problem include but not limited to the following:
First, we have a wrong attitude: Party Spirit. Persons with this attitude measure opponents only in terms of their ideas. As a consequence, they will quickly sacrifice relationships in pursuit of their objective. In contrast, the New Testament prioritizes relationships in the church.
We adopt a wrong approach and try to justify our political methods. Parliamentary procedures and political machinations are poor substitutes for prayerful conversations when working out a problem, especially in the church. We are all guilty of this mistake.
We do have a wrong ambition. This may include Personal Promotion. Rather than lifting up the ministry of the Lord. Fighting is often a poorly-masked attempt to elevate self.
The second point is that we are often driven by dissatisfaction as James point out in verse 2.
According to St. James, the person who chooses to fight is never satisfied. Others are viewed as obstacles, not brothers. Prayer is completely absent or abused.
In the third place, we are discouraged in prayer (v. 2b-3).
Some persons who fight are frustrated because they do not bother to seek God in prayer. Others are frustrated because they do take time to pray and nothing happens. James explains that our needs are met as we pray according to His will. Christians are called to submit their wills to His will. They are never simply to fulfill their own selfish wants.
The fourth point is that, there’s a denied intimacy with God (v. 4-6).
When we suffer from Spiritual adultery, its ultimate result is yielding to selfish desires. When we fail to focus or seek God’s will, the Holy Spirit is jealous of our misplaced energy and affection. Fighting is often the result of substituting a worldly, selfish pursuit in the place of a passion for God. If I allow pride to destroy my relationships in church, I am setting aside the Lord’s will that I walk in fellowship with my brothers and sisters. We all fail the test!
Conclusion
Fighting in churches hinders the advance of the good news of Jesus Christ. Driven by root causes of pride and the pursuit of personal goals, fighting Christians will damage and dismantle a church’s witness in a community. Do you want to renew the fellowship of the church? We need to make personal repentance and the mending of broken relationships a priority!
Gospel
Jesus is our perfect leader. We by ourselves cannot be like Him. That is why He gives us the best by promising the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and show us the way to focus on His word and His will for our lives! It is a pure joy and comfort as we depend on Him through the Holy Spirit! Fighting is not profitable. Jesus told Peter in the garden!
In another occasion, He cried out “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing”. Amen!