Približiti se Bogu
1Što je uzrok sukoba i svađa među vama? Zar nisu pohote koje se bore u vašim udovima? 2Žudite za onim što nemate pa zbog toga ubijate. Zavidni ste na onomu što ne možete dobiti pa se borite i svađate da drugima oduzmete. Nemate jer ne molite Boga za to što želite. 3A kad i molite, ne dobivate jer molite s grešnom nakanom: da to potratite u svojim pohotama.
4Preljubnici! Ne znate li da je prijateljstvo s ovim svijetom neprijateljstvo prema Bogu? Tko dakle hoće biti prijatelj svijetu, postaje neprijateljem Bogu. 5Mislite li da u Svetome pismu bez razloga piše: “On ljubomorno čezne za duhom što ga je u nama nastanio?” 6Ali on nam, u svojoj milosti, daje sve više snage da se suprotstavimo takvim zlim željama; kao što Sveto pismo veli:
“Bog se protivi oholima,
ali poniznima daruje milost.”4:6 Izreke 3:34.
7Predajte se, dakle, ponizno Bogu! Oduprite se đavlu pa će pobjeći od vas! 8Približite se Bogu pa će se i on približiti vama. Operite ruke, grešnici! Očistite srca, licemjeri! 9Zatužite i zaplačite nad svojim grijesima! Neka se vaš smijeh pretvori u plač, a radost u žalost. 10Ponizite se pred Gospodinom pa će vas on uzvisiti.
Upozorenje na osuđivanje drugih
11Draga braćo i sestre, ne ocrnjujte jedni druge! Tko kritizira i osuđuje svojega brata, kritizira i osuđuje Božji zakon. A vi niste suci Zakonu da možete odlučivati o tomu je li on dobar ili loš. Vaša je dužnost da ga vršite. 12Samo Bog, koji je dao Zakon, može među nama pravedno presuditi. Samo on ima moć spasiti ili pogubiti. A tko si ti da sudiš bližnjega?
Upozorenje na samopouzdanje
13Poslušajte me sad vi koji govorite: “Danas ili sutra ćemo poći u taj i taj grad, ondje ćemo ostati godinu dana, trgovati i zaraditi”, 14a ne znate što će biti sutra. Pa što je vaš život? Poput daška je koji se načas pojavi i odmah nestane. 15Trebali biste reći: “Ako Gospodin bude htio, živjet ćemo i učiniti ovo ili ono.” 16Inače se razmećete svojom hvalom. A svako je takvo hvastanje zlo.
17Grijeh je dakle znati što treba činiti, a ne činiti.
Obey God
1Why do you fight and argue among yourselves? Isn’t it because of your sinful desires? They fight within you. 2You want something, but you don’t have it. So you kill. You want what others have, but you can’t get what you want. So you argue and fight. You don’t have what you want, because you don’t ask God. 3When you do ask for something, you don’t receive it. That’s because you ask for the wrong reason. You want to spend your money on your sinful pleasures.
4You are not faithful to God. Don’t you know that to be a friend of the world is to hate God? So anyone who chooses to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy. 5Don’t you know what Scripture says? God wants the spirit in us to belong only to him. God caused this spirit to live in us. Don’t you think Scripture has a reason for saying this? 6But God continues to give us more grace. That’s why Scripture says,
“God opposes those who are proud.
But he gives grace to those who are humble.” (Proverbs 3:34)
7So obey God. Stand up to the devil. He will run away from you. 8Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Make your hearts pure, you who can’t make up your minds. 9Be full of sorrow. Cry and weep. Change your laughter to mourning. Change your joy to sadness. 10Be humble in front of the Lord. And he will lift you up.
11My brothers and sisters, don’t speak against one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister speaks against the law. And anyone who judges another believer judges the law. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it. Instead, you are acting as if you were its judge. 12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge. He is the God who is able to save life or destroy it. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Bragging About Tomorrow
13Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city. We will spend a year there. We will buy and sell and make money.” 14You don’t even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? It is a mist that appears for a little while. Then it disappears. 15Instead, you should say, “If it pleases the Lord, we will live and do this or that.” 16As it is, you brag. You brag about the evil plans your pride produces. This kind of bragging is evil. 17So suppose someone knows the good deeds they should do. But suppose they don’t do them. By not doing these good deeds, they sin.
