Day 40 | Unified – Application

Read James 4

The enemy of unity in the Church is pride. James says our selfishness leads to friendship with the world. In verse four, James says when the people of God entertain our selfish passions, it is considered hostility toward God. This is the height of arrogance: to think our selfish passions are more fulfilling than God. How silly of our hearts we would choose our desires over the God who created us! Another insidious way pride manifests is when we compare and criticize one another. Again, this is our selfishness rising to the surface. The Church must see the importance of eradicating pride from our hearts.

Our selfishness is how we conjure up control as humans. Essentially, we’re saying we think and act better than God does. This type of arrogance puts us at odds with our Savior and Church family. But the remedy for pride is found in verse seven. Because of the evil in us, we must submit to God and draw near to Him. The wonder of our God is as we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. Through this process, our Father purifies our hearts with His great grace.

As the Church, we must humble ourselves before the Lord. We must understand who He is, and that is why reading the Bible is critical to the life of a Believer. The more we know God, the more we understand our daily dependence on Him. Through that relationship, God pushes us to widen the lens of our life and realize it isn’t about us as individuals. We have a united purpose. We must remain in Jesus to lead more people to follow Him. We do this together—as the Church united in Christ for His good work through our lives.

Pray for unity in the Church, ask the Lord to draw close to you, and trust He already has.