What the Bible says about War, Causes of
(From Forerunner Commentary)
When we think of nations at war, do we also think of what a happy situation it is that people are being killed, families separated, property destroyed or confiscated, hopes and dreams shattered, and futures ended? War produces terror, fear, pain, anger, uncertainty, guilt and - if it could be weighed - tons of heartache. War, God's Word informs us, is a fruit of coveting.
Apply these thoughts to a microcosm of national wars, family wars, that so often end in divorce. What causes these family wars? They frequently erupt for the same basic reason as national wars. Somebody is coveting, and though the scale is smaller, the results are the same.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Tenth Commandment (1998)Related Topics: Covetousness | Divorce | Envy | Jealousy | Lust | Relationships | Relationships, Husband-Wife | Relationships, Parent -Child | War | War, Causes of | War, Family
This world is filled with wars of every size and magnitude, declared and undeclared. The strong attack the weak, and oppressed minorities fight to throw off the yoke of tyranny. Labor and management throw verbal bombs at each other. Husbands and wives do not divorce because they have peaceful, productive marriages! Increasingly, parents and children seem to look upon each other with scorn and sometimes break into open anger and fighting.
James shows ever so clearly that the root of these problems is lust, merely one expression of human nature. Human nature expresses itself in vanity, jealousy, lust, greed, murder, hatred, avarice, competition, lying, stealing, dishonoring parent, fornication, adultery, and - the most damaging of all - idolatry. In fact, we could say that all the above flow from idolatry!
John W. Ritenbaugh
Preparing to Rule!Related Topics: Anger | Carnal Mind | Carnal Nature | Carnal Reasoning | Carnally Minded | Fighting | Greed | Human Nature | Human Nature, Perversity of | Jealousy | Lust | Relationships, Employer-Employee | Relationships, Husband-Wife | Relationships, Parent -Child | Vanity | War | War, Causes of