We left off last time in a discussion of Jeremiah 2, where God rebukes the people for committing two horrific sins. Yesterday we covered sin -1. Today, let's look at sin -2.-We've been learning the definition of coveting. You know you're coveting something when you will sin to get it, or if you sin when you don't get it. That's part of the definition, but there's one more very important aspect. It's about what you're looking to get from that thing. That's what sin -2 is all about, and that's our topic today.

If you only listened to one episode of this podcast in a year, today's would be the one I would hope you would choose. This principle of the thirst of the soul revolutionized my spiritual life when I learned it. I pray it will do the same for you and the people you love.

The word -hedonism- is usually defined as living for pleasure, and most people-even secular people, see it as a bad thing. James uses that word in a negative way in James 4-3 where he says the reason many of our prayers aren't answered is we that we're praying for something to feed our hedonistic desires.-But not all pleasure seeking is wrong. When you butter your toast or scratch and itch or put on a sweater or wear socks or sit on the couch instead of the floor-isn't all that for the sake of pleasure- We make decisions based on pleasure on a moment-by-moment basis all day long.-So at what point do you cross the line into sinful hedonism-

Have you ever gotten a bad blister on your feet because of a shoe that doesn't fit right- Something's rubbing, but it's not painful at first so you don't even think about it. By the time you do deal with it, the blister is so painful you can hardly walk.-Did you know that can happen to your inner man too- Some irritant can just rub and rub and rub, and you don't even notice it at first, but eventually it rubs your emotions raw. And just like your skin on a blister is hypersensitive, it works the same way on your spirit, so even the littlest things cause emotional pain.-Today James is going to show us what causes that.

Sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way, something happens you don't like, but it doesn't make you mad. You don't respond in sinful ways-you're just fine. Other things go wrong, sometimes really small things, and it triggers anger. Why is that-

1- If you bring a third party into a dispute, isn't that a violation of the Matthew 18 principle of going to the person one-on-one before involving anyone else--2- Is it possible for an unbeliever to have heavenly wisdom--3- If you have a broken relationship, is it possible to be repentant even though you're unwilling to take steps to reconcile--4- If you've tried to reconcile and the person refuses, at what point do you give up-

Wouldn't it be great if all your relationships were peaceful ones- No conflict, no hostility, no fractures in closeness. We all want that, and James 3 teaches us how to do it.

If you dropped a glass of milk on your kitchen floor and the glass broke, would you clean up the mess- Or just leave it there- If you're an adult, chances are, if you make a big mess, you clean it up. --But what about relationship messes- Do you clean those up-

What's with the strange story about the young man fleeing naked at Jesus' arrest- Mark leaves out so many big aspects of that event, but he includes this. Is it a meaningless, throwaway story- Or is it Mark at his best, crafting a profound message in a vivid picture-

We're studying James 3 where James provides a fascinating description of true wisdom-smart living as opposed to dumb living. --Most people in our culture, if they made a list of what makes someone smart, would come up with something very different from God's list. There's nothing in God's list about education, for example. The list starts with moral purity. Next is gentleness. And today we come to the third surprising component of smart living-submissiveness.