Don't make Me come down there!

James covers a wide range of topics in his epistle (or letter). One of the things that we need to understand about letters like this is that they were typically written to deal with things that were going on in the church. When James tells his readers not to grumble against one another, it is because they were grumbling against one another.

Note also that James refers to ‘brothers and sisters.’ He does not mean literal members of his family but of his church family. These are Christians (probably Jewish Christians) that James is referring to. We might like to glorify the first-century church, but it had just as high a percentage of sinners as does the modern church; 100 percent. They had their flaws and weak areas. And because of their errors and mistakes we have letters like this one to instruct us and help us to grow in our faith.

These believers were grumbling against one another. Any time you gather a group of people together, conflict is possible. The more people you gather together, the opportunity for conflict grows exponentially. It would be nice if we could all just get along, but the reality is that is not likely to happen. Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would all be one. He prayed that prayer as one of the last prayers He uttered before the cross. He prayed that because He knew how difficult it would be for us.

It is difficult, but not impossible. Each of us comes into the church with our own view on life, God, and the church. Our problems start as we grow to realize that other people view those things differently than we do. We might then wonder why they don’t see things our way and try to help them understand the error of their ways. They might be viewing you in exactly the same way.

This all becomes a problem when we start to articulate those differences to others in a less than God-glorifying way. Our verse refers to grumbling, but this can also include complaining, back-biting, gossiping, or any other negative communication. All of these are divisive, and God calls them sin. James says we better deal with it or else God will. And in case you are wondering, you don’t want God getting into the middle of your disagreement with others; it won’t end well for you.

Jesus said that one of the ways that the rest of the world would believe that He is the Savior is the love that we have for one another. The opposite is also true. If we grumble and complain about each other, it causes the world to doubt the existence of God. The way we relate to one another plays a huge part in our ability to reach the lost for Jesus. Why would they want to be a part of a family that grumbles and complains about each other? Put aside your differences and love one another. Jesus, teach us to really love.

Read: Ezekiel 42:1-43:27; James 5:1-20; Psalm 119:1-16; Proverbs 28:6-7