CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO DEVOTIONAL ON YOUTUBE
James 4:11-12
As we submit our lives to God in obedience of His commands, James now teaches us that we must follow God in our obedience to Him through our salvation in Christ Jesus as our lives should be a reflection of Him. In this passage of James 4:11-12 James says that we should not speak evil against one another, and in itself is the reason and explanation of the command. To speak evil against one another is evil. We are striving to please God and be a reflection of Him to all those around us and throughout the world; to speak evil of one another would be against the life we are to live in our relationship with God. James says that if we speak evil of one another we are judging one another and are thus putting ourselves in God’s rightful place as Judge (James 4:11-12). We are not God, and we should not try to be. Jesus teaches us in John 13:34-35 (NKJV), “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This is a command to not judge one another.
Competition is indwelled within each of us to do the best we can at whatever it is that our heart desires. But doing the best we can does not mean that we speak evil of others to help us gain a better position as this in God’s eyes is evil and only evil. We can continue to be competitive and be encouraging to each other at the same time. God has given us all different talents and with them we are all going to be better at some things than others. This is one way in which we can utilize our God-given talents to bring glory to Jesus. To judge others is God’s business – not ours. If we spend our time judging others we are being reflective of the devil as he is the author of disobedience in all kinds of ways. We should seek to be a reflection of Jesus and to love one another as He first loved us as we seek to grow in the relationship with God that James has been teaching us to have and to be.
Dear LORD,
It is easy for us to be judgmental of others in the competition of life, but in gaining eternal life through our Savior Jesus we should be striving to be a reflection of Him. Please help us to have the humility to be encouraging to others and lift one another up in Christ Jesus as we strive to submit our “self” to You and bring glory to You through our lives. In Jesus name I pray, amen.