Where do wars and fights come from among you?

The context of this quote from James 4:1 makes it clear that he is talking about the internal civil war that so often rages within each one of us. The scriptural answers given to this question are however, equally applicable to wars between nations, various groups and in fact to the cultural wars raging in North America and elsewhere. Scriptural answers include anger, wrath, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, selfish ambition, pride, a loose tongue, greed, envy etc., etc.

“It takes two to tango” (Hesitations 3:24)! it’s a joke of course, there is no such book in the Bible. The meaning though is that both parties involved in an argument are responsible for it. There is Biblical support for this “A soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). As I think about this, there are two things that concern me this morning. The first is the overemphasis on rights. The second, and related to the first, is over the top demands to compensate for victimhood.

Human rights are violated all the time. I mean why should your right to a peaceful night’s rest trump my right to play drums at 3 o’clock in the morning? Of course some rights should indeed trump others, but should we all have to pay for injustices done in the past by other people we don’t even know? I’m not saying that there are no victims, nor that there are not times when compensation should be given, nor that there is not a collective responsibility for the sins of our ancestors. But in fact at some level, we are all victims, and if victimhood is always deserving of compensation, then at some level we should all have the right to compensation. So where does it all end? What is very clear to me, is that all too often, and all too easily the victim becomes the oppressor.

Our dilemma as Christians it seems to me, is to know how to deal with these things in a way that honours the Lord. Scripture tells me “As much as is possible within you, live at peace with all” (Romans 12:18), and I need to know what this means in practical terms!

Father, I come to you this morning confessing that many times my motives have been far from pure, and my reactions far from Christlike. But also Lord many times I do not know how to respond. Lord I pray for myself and and all people of goodwill this morning, that we may know the what and when and how to speak, and and when we do, to have the grace and the courage to do so in love. But also Lord we need to know when to let go of our rights, and our own sense of victimhood. Please bring clarity to these things, in Jesus Name Amen