Bible
Study: James 4, 1 to 10 and Mark 9, 30 to 37.
The words of St. James in
our first reading this morning are not only very practical but deeply
instructive. Yesterday he made us understand there is a difference between
being wise according to the standards of the world and being wise according to
the mind of God. Today he says that we should not even try to become popular
with the world because whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself
and enemy of God.
What does it mean to be a
friend of the world? It is competition and blind pursuit of material riches. It
is living according to the dictum of “Get rich or die trying.” It is what
happens when you are prepared to kill and pull anyone done just because you
want to be wealthy or popular. It is basically placing material things over and
above spiritual things.
To be a friend of the world
is to live for bread alone and forget every word that proceeds from the mouth
of God. To be a friend of the world is to bow down to Satan by committing sin
in order to gain material things or the glories of the world.
And St. James says, the
reason why there is strife, war and fighting in the society is as a result of
friendship with the world. Ordinarily, the world has enough to take care of
every living person on earth. If the world’s resources were to be evenly
distributed, there would be no human being lacking anything. But because of
GREED fuelled by individual’s desire to be over and above others as a result of
their friendship with the world and enmity with God, while some are eating and
wasting in excess, others are languishing in poverty.
We all have a battle to
fight and that battle is not against fellow humans but against our very selves.
We must fight our own passions, we must fight our greed, we must fight our
desire for popularity and fame. These are the things that are the causes of
wars in our society.
Even in the Gospel passage,
we see Jesus admonishing his disciples not to allow themselves be overtaken by
pride as to who is the greatest! These were disciples, the fathers of the
church yet they were arguing as to who is the greatest among them. This means
that these passions are in-born in every human being and no one is exempted
from the struggle against the self.
To conquer pride in us, we
must spend time with children and try to learn from them. Jesus had to bring a
child to teach them a practical lesson. Anyone who wishes to be great must
first be a servant. We cannot get to heaven by putting others through hell. To pass
through the eye of the needle, must first bend down. To enter heaven, we must
humble ourselves as children.
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, I want to be
your friend. Help me to free myself from the desire to compete with the world
for material things but to realise that my goal is heaven. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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