A quick overview of the Old Testament shows us how foolish it is to be an enemy of God. Time and time again, we see people try to thwart God. Sometimes it is common men, but even the greatest kings of the time would try to resist God. We see the folly of their attempts recorded for us. Pharoah’s nation was ravished. Nebuchadnezzar was turned into a beast of the field. Belshazzar had his kindgom taken from him. Over and over again, God shows the consequences are dire for those who would oppose Him.

This is important to keep in mind when we read James’ statement. We do not have to climb the rooftops and yell, “God is my enemy!’ in order to opposed to Him. It can be much more subtle than that. To be friends with the world is to be an enemy of God. While Pharoah might stand out as an enemy of God, the rich young ruler who refused to sell all of his possessions and follow Jesus was just as much an enemy as Pharoah. His love for the world made him an enemy of God.

Understand this, we need to monitor closely our relationship with the world. It is very easy for us to flirt with it. We may not have an overt relationship with the world, but we can allow it to remain in our lives. Even if others do not know about it, God does. Like most relationships, the longer you are around it the closer you become. That friendship is in direct contrast to our relationship with God. We can not be friends with both. We must remove wordliness from our lives, because there are dire consequences otherswise.