Studying the epistle of James readily evokes the memory of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The church at Corinth had a lot of dysfunctional personalities and practices. They excelled in spiritual gifts but they lacked the fruit of the Spirit. Their deficiency in the fruit of the Spirit posed a lot of problems, and Paul had to address them one after another. Their problems ranged from division to personality clash to immorality. Their behaviour in the observance of the Lord’s table was equally abhorrent. Though James’ writing was not to a particular church, it is clear that he was addressing believers of Jewish descent scattered all over the world. In James 3:12, he addressed them as “my brethren”. So he was dealing with people familiar with the gospel of Jesus.

“Once lust takes over, reason resigns to a corner…We need the help of the Spirit to constantly bring under control the longings of the flesh.”

It is curious, therefore, to note that those who should exhibit the nature of Christ were at each other’s throat, quarrelling and fighting. It is a pointer to the fact that long after we profess faith in the Lord Jesus, we still must constantly submit ourselves to the sanctifying influence of the Spirit by the word. Otherwise, we can still behave silly and cast doubt on our salvation. The wars among the brethren were fueled by lust and jealousy. Each failed to be content with what they had and began to long for their neighbour’s goods. They didn’t mind killing to dispossess people of what they had. Once lust takes over, reason resigns to a corner. Lust and jealousy are no less destructive today than they were when James first wrote his letter. We need the help of the Spirit to constantly bring under control the longings of the flesh.