Scripture:
You adulteresses [disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 AMP
Why would anyone in their right mind want to be God's enemy? This is the One who has the ability to vaporize the whole world in a nano second. He can decide to remove all the stops, so there are no barriers to keep the oceans from flooding us out. This is the God who can choose to snuff one's life out like a candle but mercy holds him back. Yet we have people who actually try to make God their enemy. Those who live on the fringes; those who snub God, even those who try to make God angry by doing the very things God has asked us to avoid. They have one leg in the church and another in the shrine. They have one leg in, acting like Christians and yet they court the world so closely there's no difference. In fact they love the world more than the things of God. Christ lived within human society but he never compromised his standards. He was engaged with sinners but he didn't become sinful. He knew who he was and that knowledge kept him from being disloyal to God. May we, who have chosen to follow God, remember who we are in Christ. May we not dabble in things of the world. May we not yield to sin even though we live in a sinful world. May we not make ourselves God's enemies.
Let's pray: Father, have mercy. Forgive us for all the times we've broken our vows to live only for you. We plead the blood of Jesus Christ. Amen
