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James 4:7-10
James 4:7-10
No one appreciates good humor more than I do, but you know there are times in our lives when laughter is wrong. James writes in chapter 4 verse 9, “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: and let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.” That’s quite a statement isn’t it? James is not denying the necessity for laughter. In fact the Bible teaches us that “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). There’s nothing wrong with honest, sincere, pure laughter. “The joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
But when there’s sin in my life I have nothing to laugh about. There is a false joy; there is kind of shallow happiness, a kind of insincere laughter that covers up the real need in our lives. You see sin makes us very proud and very defensive. James writes like this, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The devil enjoys it when we’re laughing about sin.
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; purify your heart, you double minded.” Make chaste your heart is what he’s saying. He’s been talking about loving the world; he’s saying your hearts are divided; now you make your heart devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sin can make us proud and defensive and Satan wants to make us proud and defensive. And when we are proud, we are resisting God. God resists the proud; He gives grace to the humble. And therefore, says James, here’s what you need to do. Number one, submit yourself, number two, draw near to God. How do you draw near to God? Well nearness is not geography. God is everywhere! Nearness means likeness. God wants to get closer to us in a deeper experience of love and He can’t do it because of our sin. And so He says cleanse your hands and purify your hearts. If you’ll just draw near to God by being more like Him, He will draw near to you. There is a laughter that covers up sin. There’s a laughter that robs us of the grace of God. But if we’ll yield ourselves to God and do His will we’ll have the true joy of the Lord as we walk in friendship with Him.
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By Back to the BibleJames 4:7-10
No one appreciates good humor more than I do, but you know there are times in our lives when laughter is wrong. James writes in chapter 4 verse 9, “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: and let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.” That’s quite a statement isn’t it? James is not denying the necessity for laughter. In fact the Bible teaches us that “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). There’s nothing wrong with honest, sincere, pure laughter. “The joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
But when there’s sin in my life I have nothing to laugh about. There is a false joy; there is kind of shallow happiness, a kind of insincere laughter that covers up the real need in our lives. You see sin makes us very proud and very defensive. James writes like this, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The devil enjoys it when we’re laughing about sin.
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; purify your heart, you double minded.” Make chaste your heart is what he’s saying. He’s been talking about loving the world; he’s saying your hearts are divided; now you make your heart devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sin can make us proud and defensive and Satan wants to make us proud and defensive. And when we are proud, we are resisting God. God resists the proud; He gives grace to the humble. And therefore, says James, here’s what you need to do. Number one, submit yourself, number two, draw near to God. How do you draw near to God? Well nearness is not geography. God is everywhere! Nearness means likeness. God wants to get closer to us in a deeper experience of love and He can’t do it because of our sin. And so He says cleanse your hands and purify your hearts. If you’ll just draw near to God by being more like Him, He will draw near to you. There is a laughter that covers up sin. There’s a laughter that robs us of the grace of God. But if we’ll yield ourselves to God and do His will we’ll have the true joy of the Lord as we walk in friendship with Him.