August 31, 2025 The War Within James 3:1-4:12 Rev. Dr. Rhonda Abbott Blevins
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is mature, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh. Who is wise and knowledgeable among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be arrogant and lie about the truth. This is not wisdom that comes down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks to no purpose? Does the spirit that God caused to dwell in us desire envy? But God gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another speaks evil against the law and judges the law, but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?
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Taking my oldest kid to college for the first time last week has given me all kinds of “feels” and prompted me to remember some of my favorite times from my college days.
One thing I remembered that I hadn’t thought about in ages was the little drama group that I was a part of through the Christian student organization I was involved with. We would rehearse once a week or so, and then we would travel around to local churches and Christian youth gatherings and perform little skits . . . think Saturday Night Live but with a cheesy Christian flare.
One of the skits we performed everywhere we went was entitled “Sin Box.” Now I can’t solo perform the entire skit for you, but let me try to set the scene and offer you the gist of what happened in the skit.
A stage hand would place a large box on the platform with the word “SIN” printed boldly on one side. One of our actors would come along and see the box of sin, and would find it very intriguing. First he would dip a finger in, and shutter in delight. Then he would place his whole arm inside the sin box, and giggle in glee. Then he dipped a toe, then would place one foot firmly inside, then another foot. And he danced around and enjoyed himself for a hot minute. The joy soon faded, but the character would find himself “stuck in sin” and completely unable to get out of the sin box.
A host of characters would come along, and our fellow would ask for help. First a jogger in sweatpants and a headband. “Can you help me get out of the sin box?” “Exercise! Exercise is the way. Come jogging with me.” The protagonist, of course, can’t jog. He’s stuck in a box. “Ok, then let’s try some jumping jacks.” Of course jumping jacks don’t work too well in a box either. The jogger gives up and runs off stage. Then a business man would walk by in coat and tie, carrying a brief case. “Can you help me get out of the sin box?” “Perhaps. It will cost you $100 cash.” The protagonist is unable to come up with $100 cash. “No worries,” says the businessman, “I’ll take bitcoin” (I’ve adapted this for modern ears!) Of course our friend can’t come up with a single bitcoin. “I don’t have time for this,” the businessman would say, leaving him in the box. Another character would stumble by with a jug labeled “xxx” on it. “Can you help me get out of the sin box?” No, man, but I can help you forget you’re in it! Rejecting the offer of untold spirits, the drunkard would stumble on his way. Then there was the Bible thumper, looking quite self-righteous and carrying a huge Bible. Occasionally, this is the part I would get to play (I can’t imagine why?). In fact, maybe I’ll play it for you today! But first a need a volunteer to stand in the sin box. Your one line: “Can you help me get out of the sin box?”
Look at you in that box of ssssiiiinnnnn! You know that sin is of the Devil . . . D-E-V-I-L. The Devil who made you do it you know? And when you take away the “D” you have “Evil.” You are swimming in evil, young wo/man! And when you take away the “E” you get “Vil,” and that’s what you are . . . a vile, vile human. When you take away the “V” you get “Il.” You make me ill, looking at you, a sinner. When you take away the “I” you get “L,” and that’s where you go if you stay in that stuff!
I would then prance off stage, leaving the protagonist with a heap of spiritual trauma to contend with. Finally, a normal person, a Christian, would find the poor lad trapped in sin, offer him kindness, even friendship. Together they would say a prayer, and “Shazam!” Our friend was stuck in sin no more.
To understand the “Sin Box” skit, we would do well to first define this very loaded word, “sin.” The best definition I’ve heard for “sin” is simply “missing the mark.” And sometimes we miss the mark, James tells us in his letter to first Century Christians, because we’re in love with the wisdom of this world over and above God’s wisdom.
But let’s face it, the real enemy isn’t the “sin” box, nor is it the people walking by—the real enemy is on the inside. The war we must wage is the war within.
So for the next few moments I invite you to play a role in your mind, kind of like my Bible thumper role back in college. In your imagination, I invite you to play the role of a military general. Imagine yourself, walking into a war room. The battlefield? The battlefield is you. James suggests there are at least four battlefronts in the war within. Let’s study these four battlefronts together as you design your strategy for victory, shall we?
Front 1: The Battle of Desire
The first battle front, James suggests, is the Battle of Desire. Listen again to what he writes in James 4:1:
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?
Picture yourself at the head of a war table, the commanding officer of your own soul. Spread before you is a map of the terrain within you. The first red-flagged zone is Desire—where the war begins.
James tells us that external conflicts don’t originate out there in other people or cultural pressures. They come from the cravings that are at war within us. This is a civil war of the soul.
The enemy isn’t desire itself—God created us as desiring beings. The problem comes when desire drifts: when our need to connect comes with unreasonable expectations, when wanting success becomes taking more than our fair share, when competing becomes dominating.
In the Sin Box skit, the protagonist doesn’t fall in sin by accident. He walks in—one curious finger, then an arm, then a foot—because it looked good and felt good. But over time, it becomes confining.
So what’s the strategy? Interrogate your desires. Ask what’s beneath the craving. Name your real hunger—often what we want isn’t what we need. Align desire with discipleship by bringing your cravings into Christ’s presence.
Here’s your battle prayer for this front:
“Lord, help me to want what You want.”
Front 2: The Battle of Ambition
A second battlefront James names is the Battle of Ambition. Listen again to James 3:16:
For where there is envy and selfish ambition,
there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.
Back in our war room, picture another red-flagged zone: Ambition. This one is sneaky, because ambition isn’t always bad. God created us with drive and purpose. But James warns that ambition can easily turn selfish.
Selfish ambition whispers: “I’ve got to get ahead. I’ve got to win. I’ve got to be noticed.” Then we start playing the comparison game which breeds envy—suddenly someone else’s success feels like a threat to our own.
That’s when the battlefield gets messy. James says selfish ambition leads to disorder—in families, workplaces, even churches where leaders stop asking “How can I serve?” and start asking “How can I shine?”
So what’s our strategy? Fight the Battle of Ambition with a twofold tactic: Shift the focus from “How can I get ahead?” to “How can I lift others up?” And seek the greater glory—ambition can either end with our name or with God’s name. Only one lasts forever.
Here’s our battle prayer for this front:
“Lord, let my ambition serve Your kingdom, not my ego.”
Front 3: The Battle of Pride
Another battlefront James mentions is Pride. Again, James doesn’t mince words in James 4:6:
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
On the war map of your soul, pride isn’t just a battlefront—it’s the enemy’s fortress. Pride digs in and fortifies. It keeps us from asking for help or saying “I’m sorry”—pride keeps us from extending grace to others.
Remember the Bible thumper from the Sin Box skit? That character is pride in a religious costume—full of condemnation, empty of compassion. Pride dresses itself up to look holy or successful or strong, but at its core pride is a wall between us and God, between us and others.
Pride’s tactic is simple: build walls. Pride says, “I’m better than them.” Pride says, “I don’t need help.” Those walls feel sturdy until we realize they’ve locked us inside.
Strategy? Surrender Pride resists; humility releases. Pride clings; humility confesses. Pride isolates; humility opens up to grace.
So how do we fight here? The strategy is surrender. Pride resists; humility releases. Pride clings; humility confesses. Pride isolates; humility opens up to grace. The only way to win this front is to stop fighting for ourselves and start depending on God.
Here’s our battle prayer:
“Lord, break my pride. Let me receive Your grace and reflect it to others.”
Front 4: The Battle of Judgment
Let’s ask James about the fourth and final battlefront by reading his strong warning in James 4:12:
Who are you to judge your neighbor?
In our war map, the last battlefront is Judgment. This is one of the easiest to fall into. When we see someone else stumble, when we notice their flaws, when their “sin box” is on display, it’s tempting to step onto the judge’s bench and start handing out verdicts.
But James reminds us—there’s only one Judge, and it’s not us. Judgment divides God’s people, sows suspicion, chokes out compassion. When we judge others, we stop seeing them as brothers and sisters in need of grace and start seeing them as problems to be fixed or enemies to be defeated.
Judgment is subtle but deadly: it convinces us that pointing fingers is the same thing as pursuing holiness. It isn’t. In fact, it only intensifies the war within.
So what’s our strategy? Lay down the gavel. Resist the urge to condemn. Instead, choose mercy. Choose empathy. Choose to see others through the lens of the same grace that rescued you.
Here’s your battle prayer:
“Lord, help me to release judgment into Your hands,
and to treat others with the same mercy I’ve received.”
Victory Strategy: God’s Grace Wins the War
This leads us to the strategy for victory, which is summed up in one word: “grace.” In James 4:6, James reminds us that God “gives more grace.”
That’s the good news. God isn’t waiting for us to win the war on our own—God has already secured victory through grace. We don’t fight the war within with shame, or with raw willpower, or with religious performance. This fight is different—we fight by laying down our arms, by humbling ourselves, by surrendering.
The only way out of the sin box in that old skit wasn’t condemnation or escapism—it was the gentle presence of someone who reminded the trapped character of God’s love. And isn’t that the Gospel? Jesus is that Someone for us. And now, we are called to be that presence of grace for one another.
Friends, this isn’t a spectator war. Every single one of us is on the battlefield.
James 4:10 gives us the final charge:
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
That’s the promise. When we surrender, God supplies the strength. When we let go, God lifts up.
I want to invite you to pause for a moment and silently choose one front where you feel the battle the fiercest right now. Desire? Ambition? Pride? Judgment? Then, simply ask God:
· “What grace do I need for this battle?”
· “Where am I trying to fight alone when I could be surrendering to You?”
James urges us to seek a different way—a higher ground—the way of wisdom, of gentleness, joy, and peace. That’s the Gospel too. Jesus doesn’t just command us to do better—He steps into our war zone, takes on the fight we could never win, dies for us, and rises again to give us peace.
The war within may not end overnight. But hear this: you don’t have to fight it alone. The way forward isn’t through pride or performance, but through humility and trust.
So let’s close with a simple, honest prayer together:
“God, I confess the battle inside me. I want Your peace. I need Your grace. Amen.”