Our Reactions

Thoughts from James 4:1-12
It’s interesting today how people are unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions. They call it extenuating circumstances. They blame their circumstances, their upbringing, their parents, their husbands or wives, the devil and goodness knows what else. James says that the cause of most conflict comes not from external circumstances, but from internal selfishness, greed, pride and resentment.
When people do or say things that upset us, our first reaction is to blame them for the hurt and anger we feel and so the war begins or continues. This used to be my response as my dear wife will tell you. But over time I have come to see that it is far better not to react in anger but to ask the Lord a few pertinent questions.
Why am I reacting to this? Am I reading something into their words or actions? Is this bringing up some past hurt, some insecurity, some pride in my heart that I need to address?
Instead of reacting in anger towards others, why not sit quietly before the Lord and reflect on your reaction. If you ask God to show you where this reaction is coming from, I believe He will show you and then have the humility to take responsibility for your reaction and ask God to help you deal with it. The key word in this passage to dealing with this is “Humble”. It appears 3 times.
We can continue to react, resent and retaliate or we can choose to humble ourselves before God and one another and get the victory.

Contributed by Geoff Follas