An excerpt from "Bible.org" entitled, "14. How to Resolve Conflict (James 4:1-3)" by Gregory Brown, states: "God created pleasure for the enjoyment of people (1 Tim 6:17); therefore, in a sense, believers should enjoy pleasure more than the world. He is glorified when we enjoy his creation—including the beauty in nature, fellowship with people, and the gifts and passions he has given us. By enjoying God’s gifts properly, we are enjoying him. Some have called this concept, “Christian hedonism.” However, when we pursue pleasure before God and outside of God’s intended purpose, it leads to all types of evil, including conflict and wars, which were happening among these Jewish Christians.
After sharing how conflict really begins—with our selfish, perverted, unfulfilled desires—James describes how they lead to conflict, “You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight” (4:2). We want respect but don’t get it, so we fight with others to bend them to our will. We want near perfection from someone’s work but don’t get it, so we criticize them when they don’t perform as we expect. We want more money but don’t get it, so we complain and at times work with minimal effort, causing conflict in the workplace. In describing the intensity of our evil motives, James uses the word “envy,” which can also be translated “covet.” From this Greek word, we get the English word “zealot” or “zealous,” which shows how strong these inner, evil desires can be.5 Essentially, quarreling and fighting begin when we intensely want something that we don’t have." This article may be viewed at: 14. How to Resolve Conflict (James 4:1-3)
Reference: 1 Corinthians 6:8
