James 4:1-6 - needs vs desires

Scripture: James 4:1-6

Summary: We have conflicts among ourselves because we long for things that we don't have. If we are a friend of the world (in other words, wanting worldly things) then we are an enemy of God.

Thoughts: There are so many things that I want but don't have. For instance, my dryer broke a couple of months ago.  Since my washer no longer works on the Permanent Press cycle, I decided that I should just buy a new washer and dryer. After all, the new machines are much more energy efficient than my old ones. So I began saving the $1000 that I would need to buy a new set.  But I still don't have the money because things kept coming up, like my car needing it's 60,000 mile checkup. Luckily, just the other day God taught me a lesson about wanting new things, when someone offered me a used dryer for $50. So now that I have both a washer and dryer again, I find that my "need" for a new washer and dryer was really just a "want." And I find myself wondering, how many of the other things that I think I need are really just desires? It's so easy in this day and time and place to be convinced that you have to have something. But if we let ourselves get too tied up in our desires, then we distance ourselves from God. We fill our lives and time with so much stuff that there is no room for God.

Prayer: Teach me, O Lord, to let go of the clutter in my life and to resist the temptation to own the latest and greatest stuff. Amen.