“For WHERE ENVYING AND STRIFE (self-seeking) IS (exist) ,THERE IS CONFUSION AND EVERY EVIL WORK.” JAMES 3:16

Don’t have to watch much to see the spirit of anger and self defensiveness that has taken over the world.

Just watching the American presidential  debates will give all quite a little insight into how these attitudes have boiled up out of the belly of the beasts through the mouth and flooded out  all sense of human civility and composure. It has thoroughly saturated the fabric of society.

And on all counts, I think my favorite display of this was a couple of years ago when Vladimir Putin’s people could not resist the pettiness and one- up man ship of tweeting a photo of Putin with a leopard cub mirrored to a photo of Obama holding a poodle. Evidently real men play with leopards, or at least in Putin’s never-ending need to prove his bravado he seems to think that.

But seriously, whatever happened to social graces for the sake of being graceful? We are now a dissed, self-righteous society who will tell off anyone and anything that dares cross our perfect path or attempt to change the way we view our highly superior selves. And of course, we just don’t have to take it because we only answer to the one that matters, US, good old number one. And it is truly sickening.

But nevertheless, it is here and it is wide open and it will not be ceasing anytime soon. The bad news here, all these nasty attitudes and disgruntled people screaming over their rights and their rights to hate everyone who disagrees with them ( remember THEY are superior, ACCORDING TO THEM) are not going anywhere. At least not for a while and as the Bible points out they will only grow worse and worse.

The concern for us is when the nasty little beasts rear their ugly little heads in the church world and THEY HAVE BEEN since the days of the disciples. Only now they too have grew worse and worse and are now the Candy Coats, THE NUMBER ONE AGENCY OF SATAN are using it to pervert and lead away the flocks that should belong to the true Shepherd. 

So lets look at ENVY, which is jealously, resentment, and my favorite, has the effect of causing one to “regard maliciously” and it often runs amok in a quite underscored tone among the brethren, especially “ministers” because so many are consumed with one thing and one thing only, promote and prosper their personal ministry and doctrine. And you know after a while  it doesn’t even have anything to do with seeing the lost saved. It is about their numbers and how they can “out preach” fifteen pastors and a missionary all at once.

I only wish I could forget the ones that I had the most trouble coming to terms with when I was a new Christian, you know that blessed state when you see everyone through “non-flesh” colored glasses. These are those who are superior to all and speak with anger and condemnation and everyone is going to hell EXCEPT them because they are the only one for five hundred miles that truly live it. 

Yep, those are the guys, I have often wondered how these will fare when one day the Lord asks them something like, did they even ever know who He is? They are also the ones who are too good to ever speak to anyone and wear their anger as a shield and NEVER need prayer or anything from anyone. They do not lead people to Christ they  cause people to run away. Here’s Paul description:

“Some INDEED PREACH CHRIST EVEN OF ENVY AND STRIFE; and some of good will: THE ONE PREACH CHRIST OF CONTENTION ( SELFISH AMBITION), NOT SINCERELY, supposing to add affliction to my bonds.” PHILIPPIANS 1:15 

Translation, they were playing a game of “Whatever Paul can do, we can do better” of course that is game that they will never win because God SEES the heart and WEIGHS the intentions and as Jesus said they have their reward.

So we got jealousy, cattiness, and very non-Christlike competition all being Envy at it’s finest.

STRIFE: Good ol’ conflict, animosity, resentment, friction which ultimately leads to its final and planned resting place, DISCORD (as in “among the brethren”)  often born of envy and self-will, this one is coming on strong in the form of the lack of caring among brethren, so many have turned again like with the ministers, “IF IT DOES NOT AFFECT ME, THEN IT IS YOUR PROBLEM.” And those who want others and the entire congregation to pray spiritual gifts for THEM, we can’t pray anointing on anyone, only God gives that and to whom he wants to work through and I have wanted to ask, what about everyone else’s gifts?

But what about all the OTHERS who have needs or are going through difficult times, well, again, it is not their problem. Again THIS IS NOT “AIMED” at any particular church. This is the accumulation of many years of observation from  many angles. This is a warning call to watch and don’t fall into it and don’t let it jump off others on to you.

Animosity BREEDS animosity and strife will breed more strife and God WILL never work in an environment with one smidge of ANY of it. It is pure flesh:

JAMES 4:5 ” Do   ye think that the scripture saith in vain, THE SPIRIT  THAT DWELLETH IN  US (OUR ) LUSTETH TO ENVY (YEARNS JEALOUSLY)? 

Now for the CONFUSION and EVERY EVIL WORK: Did you know that there is  a church” of the world? I don’t mean the candy coats who preach that there is no need of repentance and that you can commit any sin whatsoever and still be a child of God. I mean the CONFUSION of those who ARE in the world, NEVER have accepted Jesus as their Savior, NEVER born again and yet they quote scriptures one to another. They promise prayers one for another. They obviously believe in God and they believe in his power BUT they have never accepted him and are still lost. They have seen so much of the “holier than thou’s” and so much flesh from those who claim the cross and so much out of the money-grubbing candy coats, well, what are they supposed to believe? The true Gospel is tucked away under all this mess and God is nowhere near any of it. He wants the lost saved and his work to be done but until we all get these things out of us, we will only continue to serve ourselves.

Strife’s mother is pride, so it will first require people to ADMIT they are not perfect and ASK God to help them overcome it. Pray against it in whatever church you belong to, ask God to open eyes so we can be in the unity that we HAVE to be in to see all the promises to come to pass, ask him to weed the garden of those whose intentions are not toward the kingdom, because we will either unite in the harvest or we will fall divided. God gave us the instructions, now it is up to us to implement them.

“My brethren, be ye not many masters ( let not many of you be teachers) KNOWING that we shall receive the greater condemnation (stricter judgment).”

“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge (has understanding) among you? LET HIM shew (show) OUT OF A GOOD   COVERSATION  (CONDUCT) HIS WORKS WITH MEEKNESS AND WISDOM.

BUT IF YE HAVE BITTER ENVYING AND STRIFE IN YOUR HEARTS, GLORY NOT (DO NOT BOAST) AND LIE NOT  AGAINST  THE TRUTH.

This wisdom descendeth not from above, but IS EARTHY , SENSUAL, AND DEVILISH (DEMONIC) for where envying and strife is, there is confusion and EVERY evil work. BUT THE WISDOM THAT IS FROM ABOVE IS FIRST PURE, THEN PEACEABLE, GENTLE, AND EASY TO BE INTREATED, FULL OF MERCY AN GOOD FRUITS, WITHOUT PARTIALITY, AND WITHOUT HYPOCRISY. And the fruit of righteousness is SOWN IN PEACE of them that make peace. JAMES 3:1,13,18

Σαλπιζω Φλογιζω NB 2016