13When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
James presents two main thoughts in this passage:
1. Don’t blame God (or anyone else) for your problems. God allows difficulties into our lives but He never entices us toward sin in the midst of these difficulties. Using a football analogy, God puts us into the game against a tough defense not to harm us but to make us a better player. And we shouldn’t blame Him when we choose to audible, ignore our teammates, and run the play in our own way.
Let’s face it. We are good at blaming God or others for our problems. It has been our modus operandi since Genesis 3 when Adam blamed God and Eve (the woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate) for his own sinful choice. Proverbs 19:3 puts it this way, A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD.
Our biggest problem is our own sinful heart. We have a “pull” toward sin, a lust in our hearts, and when the opportunity for sin presents itself we have a tendency to go along for the ride…the whole time blaming God for making us that way or blaming others for not helping us out enough. That doesn’t mean that others won’t hurt us or sin against us but, even in these cases, we have a choice in the way we respond. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.
2. Do thank God for His good gifts in life. Every good and perfect gift is from above… Despite our sinful will and choices, God continues to shower us with blessings. Every day is a gift from Him. Every breath is a gift from His hand. Sometimes we just need to stop and thank Him for all of His blessings in our life…actually let me rephrase that…every moment of every day we need to stop and thank Him for all His blessings. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Blaming God or others leads to bitterness, misery, and self-deception. Thanking God or others leads to joy, humility, and greater perception.
Lord, may I reflect Your goodness by my attitude today. I thank You for another day, for life, for freedom, for daily provision, for my family, for my wife, for my children, for my health, for good friends, for the body of Christ, for forgiveness, for grace, for prayer, for the opportunity to reflect Your light to others today.
Excellent thoughts, Brother Steve! I love to read your writings and I love you too!