Ministry of Grace Church

You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and are not able to obtain. You fight and battle. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

Truth to Learn

Our own selfish desire to have is the reason why we fight.

Behind the Words

The word translated “lust” is the Greek word epithumeō which is a compound of epi which means “upon, above, or over” and a form of thumos, meaning “a strong passion of the mind.” Hence, epithumeō refers to “overly strong desires” or “lusts.” This is different word that the one translated “passions” in the previous verse.

“Murder” is from phoneuō, meaning “to kill unjustly” or “to murder.”

The word translated “covet” is dzeloō which means “strong feelings” and can be either for or against something. The translation of “covet” is better than the “desire to have” which is how it is translated in the KJV because of the strong feeling implied in this word.

Machomai is translated as “fight.” It literally means, “to fight as in a battle or a war.” As used here, it probably means a physical confrontation in a private quarrel. Whereas the word translated “battle” means,“ to go to war against an enemy.

As we have shown it here in our translation, James probably intended a grammatical stop after battle. If this is so, the verse reads thus:

You lust and do not have – you murder. And you covet and are not able to obtain – you fight and battle. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

Meaning Explained

In the previous chapter James warned against the desire for an eminent position in the church such as being a teacher. He now talks about the problem of an inordinate desire for things.

He says that the lusting for things is why we kill and that our covetousness (untempered desire for something that someone else has) is why we fight.

“But,” you say, “I’ve never killed anyone, and I certainly don’t go to battle, so this verse really isn’t for me.” However, Jesus equated unjustified anger with killing, as Matthew recorded in his gospel account:

You have heard that it was said to those of old, “Do not commit murder, and whoever commits murder will be in danger of the judgment.” But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment. (Matthew 5:21, 22a)

James also talks about fighting being the result of our coveting, so I’m sure that this verse applies to every one of us. We all get angry and we all covet. We are all guilty before the Lord.

In the final analysis, James tells us that the reason we don’t have what we want is because we don’t ask. And when we do ask, we often do so with wrong motives. James will get into that in the next verse. So, how do we have our desires satisfied? Here’s what the psalmist said:

Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. (Psalms 37:4)

Application

Let’s each one of us take a few minutes right now to confess our inappropriate anger and covetousness to our God and Father. And, instead of making our delight be the possession of things and getting what we deserve, let’s make our merciful Lord and Savior our delight and thank Him that we don’t get what we truly deserve.