Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - You're Settling For Less | New Testament | James 4

Episode Date: February 14, 2023

Where in your life are you willing to compromise and give in to sin? Are you searching for something better? Is life in God's kingdom worth it? In today's episode, Tanya shares from James 4 about how to live like you're a part of God's kingdom. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: James 4

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. And the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. So in the 60s, a Stanford psychology professor conducted an experiment that's referred to as the marshmallow test. And it's been done several times since then, but it's basically the same. So the psychologist puts a marshmallow in front of a three-year-old, tells them the marshmallow is theirs, and they can eat it anytime they want. but if they can wait 10 minutes without eating it, they will get a second better treat to enjoy at the end.

So the original test earned recognition as a pretty powerful predictor of future performance. So compared to kids who lunged for the early reward, those who held out for a bigger prize, they did better in school, got higher SAT scores, had higher self-esteem, better coping skills, and were even less likely to abuse drugs. What psychologists think those kids can do, even at the age of three, is hold two ideas in tension at the same time. What are those two ideas? Well, it's pretty simple.

I want the treat. I can wait for a better treat. How most college students and most adults can't even do that. But the ability to hold the tension longer tends to pay off for us in the long run. As parents, we might already be. discouraged. But what can we do? Well, we can help our kids practice holding these two ideas and tension. I want this now. I can wait for something better. As Christian parents, we can also help them identify what is better. The life Jesus shows us in the scriptures. In his letter to the big

church in Jerusalem, James sees this war going on between what people want to do and what they're actually doing. And so he addresses them, and he's not addressing them to teach them some big new theological wisdom, but really to get into their business about how they're living. In other words, he's helping them see where they're compromising and giving into sin while also showing them something better, what life is like in God's kingdom. James is a popular Bible study because it's beautifully woven, punch in the gut for people who want to follow Jesus.

But you may say, on what grounds can he do this? Well, as Jesus half-brother, the book of James is a summary of his wisdom that primarily pulls from two sources, Jesus' sermon on the Mount and the book of Proverbs. Weave that in with a life growing up with Jesus and a lot of persecution and hardship. James was eventually martyed, by the way, and he's a trustworthy source about believing in something or rather someone better. So today we're in chapter four, and no offense to all the other chapters, but this This one is my favorite.

James 4-1. He says, what causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? I don't think he's talking about the kind of tension we experience within the church when we're trying to adhere to the truth of scripture and figure out what that is. But this is more about the everyday relational problems and divisions we have in our marriages, with our family members and in our friend groups that are actually the result of our own poor attitudes

from not getting what we want. In other words, the fights and quarrels he's talking about aren't really about the other person, but more about what you have going on inside. So James doesn't mince words, he goes on. He says, you desire and you 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.

You ask and do not receive because you spend it wrongly on your passions. You adulterous people. Now, let's look at each one of those, starting with murder. So James explains us a little bit later, but he doesn't literally mean you're killing the people that you talk about unfavorably or the people you judge or dislike or disagree with. But he is talking about a kind of relational death that follows our words. Now, the habit within this church has apparently been to justify words that hurt other people on the grounds of, quote, striving for the truth. But James doesn't buy this, and he traces the words back to their source.

And he says these words of conflict and dissension aren't about the reader's love for God, but they come from their sinful desires and evil impulses. And he already explained in a previous chapter, but we need reminding. So from chapter one, he said, but each person is tempted when he is lowered and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it is conceived gets birth to sin and sin when it's fully grown brings death. So it's dramatic, but true depiction of what happens when we give in to temptation with our words. Okay, another habit of the church has been to ask God for forgiveness instead of asking him for help to fight temptation. When James says you do not have because you do not ask, and then you ask and do not receive because you spend it wrongly on your passions, well, he probably means they are not seeking

God's wisdom, but rather God's stamp of approval. What's that phrase we use? Forgiveness instead of permission? It's like saying, God, these are my plans. Bless them. The Bible shows us that God's goal is not to give humans what our impulses demand. His goal is that we will love what he loves. Because he knows what is truly good,

he wants us to take pleasure in what is truly good. So if the first marshmallow is about being ruled by our desires, then what's the better thing we're holding out for? Well, James says, submit yourself to God. This involves turning away from a sinful habit. There's a difference between asking for forgiveness and being repentant. Forgiveness is sorrow over doing something wrong. Repentance comes with a desire to change, turning away from what feels good according to my flesh and toward God and his definition of good, even if it creates a lot of tension in my life.

James also says, resist the devil. We must recognize the main source of our temptations. The devil taunts us with lies all the time. pornography, for instance. Well, it lies to you about the way it will make you feel. It lies to you about the amount of destruction it will cause in your relationships. When James says to resist the devil, it's a call to action. You need to put stop gaps between you and the temptation.

Tell people who will make it harder for you to give in. Keep your phone in a public place. Memorize a verse that will preach the truth to your heart. Or another example. While I'm sitting here, I just got a notification on my phone about a sale from a store I like. Now, for me, this is more than just a distraction. So why on earth do I have that notification turned on? Oh, well, probably because I enjoy doing that.

So first step, turn off the notification. Second step. Tell the whole podcast world. Now, maybe neither of those examples are yours. but what is it do you know do you have a desire to change if you do james has a heap of encouragement for you he says draw near to god and he will draw near to you this is what we're waiting for this is the better marshmallow drawing near to god he will lift you up god will not leave your stomach empty he will not leave a humble heart in mourning he will not leave you in self-despair.

He will accept you, and he will raise you up into the warmth of his love. Before you forget, sign up for the brand new TMBT newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes, and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help you beat the midweek slump and go deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.