James, a little book of wisdom: the universal battle of good vs evil

Today’s wisdom:

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. James 1:13-18

My random musings:

This issue of temptation raises a whole load of interesting questions. Where does temptation come from? Does God send it or allow it? Jesus taught us to pray ‘Lead us not into temptation’ so is that indicative of a truth that God does indeed lead us into temptation on occasions?

James is really clear in his response. God does not tempt anyone. I’m with James here. Temptation is cruel. Would any of us do that to a child of our own? Would we deliberately place in their path something that would entice them to do the wrong thing? I don’t think so! God does however allow us to be tempted. He allowed Jesus to be tempted during his time here on earth. That is part of the reality of living in this world, where there are two spiritual forces at work: good and evil. There are two paths we can take in any decision that we face: the path that leads to life and the path that leads to death. That’s it. Simple.

I love the simplicity of what James is saying here. Everything that is good comes from God. Everything that is evil does not come from God. It’s very black and white, refreshing in a modern world where we embrace many shades of grey. 

I have come to live with this truth that James is stating. I believe everything is spiritual. Where I see good, I see God. Where I see evil, I see the opposite, an absence of God, a turning away from Him. I hesitate to say the Devil, although if God is the personification of all that is good, why do I struggle so much to accept the Devil as the personification of all that is evil?

So the outworking of this is that if people do evil in the name of God, then there is no way that God can be in that action. If people hate others and marginalise others and condemn others because of their faith in God, then their faith is not in the God that I serve. On the flip side, where there is love in action, whether it is a church outreach activity or not, then God is at work. 

I have a lot of ideas and there was a period where a particular group of Christians were questioning whether these ideas were God ideas or good ideas. I now have the confidence to not listen to that false differentiation. All good ideas are inspired by God. All good ideas that are executed with love and compassion are good. Whether they are seemingly successful or not. Whether they ever come to fruition or not. 

It’s not just what you do and say, it’s the way that you do it.

My question for you:

If asked, how would you define good, evil and temptation? How can this wisdom from James enlighten your understanding?