“You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
When James warned Christians about “friendship with the world,” he did not say that it was possibly unwise or potentially dangerous. Instead, he used very strong language indicating that being “a friend of the world” makes one “an enemy of God.”
Knowing this danger, it is important that we know what the inspired writer meant by “friendship with the world.” In this article, we are going to consider what “friendship with the world” looks like and also see what a Christian’s relationship with the world should be.
Defining Terms
As we begin, it is important to understand the definitions of the terms we are considering:
- Friendship – This word carries with it the idea of familiarity and fondness. It indicates approval and trust.
- The world – This does not refer to the physical creation. Instead, it refers to all that stands opposed to God. Satan is “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), so “the world” (James 4:4) is anything that has submitted to the rule of the devil.
What Friendship with the World Looks Like
In the immediate context, James described what friendship with the world looks like:
- Conflict among brethren – “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel” (James 4:1-2). The Lord wants His people to be united (John 17:20-21). The conflicts to which James referred were not about opposing error – something we should do (2 John 10) – but were about unnecessary strife among brethren. Jesus told His disciples, “Because you are not of the world…the world hates you” (John 15:19). Therefore, when our brethren turn to the world, they will hate us too.
- Uncontrolled lust – “Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder” (James 4:1-2). Earlier, James warned that lust leads to sin and sin leads to death (James 1:14-16). So this is more than just wishing we had certain things. This is an intense desire to obtain something that makes us willing to do anything to obtain it (“you commit murder” – James 4:2). We are to bring our bodies under subjection in order to please the Lord (1 Corinthians 9:27). Worldliness is contrary to this.
- Ignoring God – “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2). This was about not asking God in prayer. Paul said we are to “let [our] requests be made known to God” through prayer (Philippians 4:6). Of course, we may ask for things that are not in God’s will; we will not receive those things (1 John 5:14-15). But in that case we are at least still asking. James was talking about ignoring God. It was the same mentality as the Gentiles who “knew God” but “did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer” and went on to engage in numerous sins (Romans 1:21, 28).
- Selfishness – “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). With this attitude, our goal is simply to satisfy our desires without regard to the will of God or to the needs or well-being of others. Jesus indicated that our motives should be to please God and do good to others (Matthew 22:36-40). Worldliness leads us in the opposite direction. John wrote, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:16). Worldliness is rooted in selfishness.
- Hostility toward God – “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?” (James 4:4). If we are not with the Lord, we are against Him (Luke 11:23). This is easy to ignore for the worldly-minded person because he is focused on worldly things, not spiritual. Yet this cannot be ignored. The enemies of the Lord will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:25; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9). If we are friends of the world, we are setting ourselves up for this fate.
What Our Relationship with the World Should Be
If we are not to be friends of the world, what should our relationship with the world look like?
- In the world, but not of the world – “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one” (John 17:14-15). As Jesus indicated in His prayer, His disciples are “not of the world.” However, we cannot “go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:10). We must continue to work to be different.
- Not conformed to the world, but transformed – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). While we are to be different, it is not enough to different for the sake of being different. We must be “transformed” and “prove what the will of God is.” We must live in such a way that we can say, “Christ lives in [us]” (Galatians 2:20). The differences between the way we live as Christians and the way the world lives should be evident to those around us (cf. 1 Peter 4:4).
- Shining as lights in the world – “So that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). We shine as lights as we hold forth the word (Philippians 2:16). We let our light shine to others by our example (Matthew 5:16) and through our teaching (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).
- Not unequally yoked together – “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). We must not allow ourselves to be influenced by the world. Again, we cannot “go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:10); but we must be an influence for good, otherwise we are useless to the Lord. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men” (Matthew 5:13).
- Strangers and pilgrims – “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11-12). Our lives here are temporary. James said that our life is “a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). Our home is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Therefore, we need to obey God and avoid sin. This is how we “eagerly wait” (Philippians 3:20) for the Lord’s return. We can “have confidence…at His coming” if we practice “righteousness” (1 John 2:28-29).
Conclusion
This world is temporary. John wrote, “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17). If we do the will of God, we can have eternal life. Let us not forfeit that reward for a temporal friendship with the world.
