James 4:13-17 The book of James is so practical. And these verses are particularly practical. They are verses which sum up the section that begins in James 3:13 . It is a section which challenges our arrogance and rebukes us for our refusal to put God first. We saw last week, when James says ( James 4:5 ) that we cannot be both friends of the world and friends of God. Someone asked me, ‘Does that mean I can’t like the world or care for the world or buy nice clothes?’ No, but it does mean that we must not make this world our reference point; we must put our desire for God before our desires for the things of this world. It is about submission before God, ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God’ ( James 4:7 ). And in particular James challenges our boasting. In 3:14, he says, ‘But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth’. And now, he writes, ‘As it is you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.’( James 4:16
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