Our Own Worst Enemy!

 

James 1

We are our own worst enemy!  While I am not sure where this phrase came from or from whom it came, I am certain it was someone who was frustrated with themselves for not following through with something they felt like they were called to do.  It is so true, we are the ones that get in the way of the plans that God has for our lives, we can blame no one but ourselves when we don’t spend time digging into God’s Word or when we don’t come to Him daily in prayer.  I have found that when I am in His Word and talking to Him continuously that all the other things work out, things get done, and I am so more at peace with myself and the world around me.  Why?  It’s simple, when we do these two things, we are putting God first!

After reading the first chapter in James, I began to think about how we get in our own way.  Verse 5 says if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  Are you asking for wisdom or are you asking for God to just fix the problem?  Sometimes we don’t need problems removed from our lives, but we need Godly wisdom in order to deal with them.  This chapter also makes it very clear that God never tempts us, but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed (verse 14).  Whether we want to believe it or not, we are our own worst enemy, we get, not in our own way, but in the way of God’s will for our lives.  Verse 19 tells us to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.  Now think about that one, what if we listened more than we spoke?  What if we didn’t jump into anger as soon as we heard something we didn’t like or saw something that disturbed us?  What if we listened more and then also listened to God before every choice made or word spoken.  I can only speak for myself, but I know, without a doubt, I would be a much better person if I did just those two things.

We are our own worst enemy; however, we also have access to the truest friend you could ever find.  Jesus Christ not only saves our soul, but can save us from our own selves if we will let him.  James 1:22 is very clear when it says, But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  I have found that becoming a doer of the word keeps us focused on God and others, and we seem to forget about our selfish wants, which usually end up turning in to some sort of trouble for us.

While we will never live perfect lives here on this earth, we do serve a perfect Savior, and when we serve him with everything we have in us we can live as close to perfect as we possible.