James 4:1-3
“Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? You lust, and don’t have. You murder, and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
This letter, likely written by James, the brother of Jesus, in the mid-1st century CE, addresses Jewish Christians scattered outside of Palestine. It offers practical wisdom and ethical instruction, urging them to live out their faith in tangible ways and warning against various internal and external dangers to their community.
What unexamined personal desires might be fueling disagreement or tension in a group you are part of?