James 4:4

James 4:4: “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

This is really the key point when it comes to following God. We have two choices: we can be a friend of the world and an enemy of God, or we can be a friend of God and an enemy of the world. There is no such thing as neutrality. You can’t be neutral when it comes to God.

Many modern church leaders have picked up on this fact. They’ve realized that standing for the Bible means that the world will hate them. So, in order to be more popular, they have rejected the Bible. People now say that you just can’t know what the Bible says. They say that it’s full of myths. They say that you have to decide for yourself what the truth is. They say that it’s full of lies about God. They say that God would never judge anyone. They say a lot of terrible things about the holy, inspired, infallible Word of God. They have chosen their side: they have sought to become friends with the world, so they are now the enemy of God.

But there is more to it than that. What things in life do we love? What things do we seek after? Is it money? Fame? Respect? Houses? Cars? Possessions? Or is it God?

James points out that we are controlled by the things that we desire. If we desire things that pertain to this world – money, houses, goods, etc. – then we have become carnal. We’ve lost our way. God warned us to not be materialistic; He has told us that the things of this world are passing away and are temporal. He told us to “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” He was very clear: while the Gentiles may seek after all these things, we are to be different. We are to seek after God.

As it says in Psalms, “nothing on earth have I desired besides You.” We are to love God passionately, with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength. We must love God, not the world and its riches and pleasures. He is to be our joy and our delight. When this is the case – when God alone is all that we desire – then things are the way they should be. Then we can serve God. Then sin cannot take root, because it cannot offer us anything that we want.