By George Barlow – Pulpit Minister
James 4:1-10
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.”
World War I (WWI) was a global war centered in Europe that began on July 28th 1914 and lasted until November 11th 1918, almost 4 years long. It was mostly called the World War or the Great War from its beginning until the start of World War II in 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter.
World War I was ranked among the deadliest conflicts in human history during that time. The total number of military and civilian casualties was over 37 million. There were over 16 million deaths and 20 million wounded. The total number of deaths included about 10 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians.
I remember this documentary on World War I, when it talked about Britain’s casualties and said that if you were to march four abreast past London’s war monument, the processional would take seven days to complete. This is the awful cost of war. Cost included monetary things, economic interruption and all kinds of destruction, but nothing compared to the human cost.
When members of the body fight and quarrel amongst themselves, there’s a cost that everyone has to pay. Both the soldiers and the civilians during World War I had to pay the ultimate price. Soldiers paid the cost with their lives and surviving civilians with their grief. Job 22:21 says, “Submit to God and be at peace with him: in this way prosperity will come to you.”
When brothers and sisters go to war with one another, the cost is too high. James wrote, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1).
In our own selfish pursuits, we sometimes battle without considering the price that is displayed to the world or our relationships with one another. Romans 8:7 says, “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God: it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.”
If we are to represent Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior to the world, we need to stop fighting with one another and practice God’s love and peace.
Romans 10:3 say, “Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.” Wars and fights within the body of Christ disrupt our unity and peace. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:3 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
How can we show the peace of Christ unless our conflicts cease? When we live at peace with one another, the world can clearly see Christ living in us and through us. Amen?
