God is a jealous God Who demands our whole hearted love and single-minded loyalty. Our love for God must not be rivaled by another other love. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). James warns us not to become friends of the world for friendship with the world is enmity with God (4:4). God is a jealous God Who will not permit any other rival, but demands our undivided loyalty (4:5). James says, “But He gives more grace” (see 4:6). God will give us the grace both to put Him number 1 in our hearts and to live lives that demonstrate it.
James 4:7-10 instruct us as to how we can receive that grace from God. That grace is given to those who in humility submit themselves to God. We must first recognize that we have cozied up too close to the world. Are we following its ways, listening to its wisdom (3:15), becoming its friend? If so, we need to repent – We must “Lament, and mourn and weep” that we have been unfaithful to God. We must seek the cleansing of our sins, and the purifying of our heart which has become divided in its loyalty – double-minded. The devil will tempt us again and again to become friendly with the world over which he rules, but as we submit to God and resist the devil, he will flee from us. Let us draw near to God, and He will draw near to us! And it is near to God where we must stay. “There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God; a place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God.”