Verse By Verse Study - James 3:11-15

Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. James 3:11-12 (NKJV)

With the Christmas holiday fast approaching, it makes sense that one should check their heart and make sure that it is in the right place as they enter into the new year. I find myself feeling extra generous this time of year. Don't get me wrong, I love to give all year long, but something about Christmas sparks an extra bit of generousity within me. However, I have to remember what 2nd Corinthians 9:7 says - God loves a cheerful giver. Sometimes I give out of guilt or out of selfish motives and I try to fool myself into thinking that I gave because I truly wanted to and because I wanted to please God.

Sometimes as believers we go through this struggle as our flesh plays tug o' war with our spirit. We want to do what is right, but our flesh gets in the way and causes a good deed to go sour. In these verses, James makes it quite clear that good and evil cannot function together, and it is one or the other that takes precendence in our lives. Sure, we have both our fleshly desires and our spiritual ones, but we choose which one will rule over the other. Some may disagree with me on this, and that's ok. We all have differing views, but like verses 11 and 12 state "Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?" and "Can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs?" Our good deeds and our actions that we perform are judged not by the deeds themselves but by the attitude and motives by which they are performed. I can give to the poor and wish them a Merry Christmas, but if I do so simply because I want a tax write off or because the preacher made me feel guilty at church, then I have given for the wrong reasons. God can still use my gifts to bless others, but will I be in accordance with how he would have me give? Probably not. I am applying this to the Christmas scenario, but this can be said in regards to any action we take. We must be careful that we do not allow a false sense of righteousness to enter our hearts.

We need the wisdom of the Lord to discern the sweet from the bitter, the righteous from the unrighteous. I will talk about that in my next post as I go over more verses from chapter 3 of the book of James. Until then, I pray that you and your families are blessed abundantly this Christmas and that you are able to share those blessings with those in need. Merry Christmas!