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“Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.” –– James 4:1-3
It is a skill acquired poolside as children under the suspecting gaze of the lifeguard, whistle loaded and cocked, just inches from her lips –– SCREEEECH!!! “NO RUNNING!” Having been busted previously, you perfect the art of run/walking. It is not running, but is as close as you can get without the embarrassment of the lifeguard’s whistle. This skill comes in handy later in life when getting to the line at the restaurant before the other diners in the parking lot; when racing through the concourse to catch the flight connection; or, when fearing the toilet paper will be sold out before you get to the paper products at Target. It’s not running, it’s running-light, or maybe ralking. You want something and you fear you will miss your chance, so you’ll even take a turbo step or two outside the bounds of respectability, civility, and decorum to grasp the object of your obsession. Could this be what constitutes a craving? It’s beyond a taste for something, far more than an affinity or a preference, and even greater than a hankering or hunger.
Cravings can lead to delight –– Caramel Brownie Moose Tracks Ice Cream –– and yet, cravings very often can lead to danger, conflict, despair, and worse. You see, a craving is typically accompanied by a decline in reason. The stronger the craving, the weaker your capacity for rational thought. Bear in mind, however, that rational thought should not be confused with rationalization. In many cases, these two concepts carry opposite meanings. Our rationalizations represent our attempt to assassinate reason. The questions of need, cost, utility, and fairness are snuffed out by all the dubious justifications you make to grasp it. It’d be a shame for it to go to waste; We can make it fit; Just wait ’til the neighbors get a load of this; I deserve this; We can stretch the budget for this; This will make me happy. This will boost my confidence (which may well mean “boost my ego”); Mom would want me to have it… Before long we’re convincing ourselves that civilization will collapse if I cannot have it, and so it must be mine by any means necessary.
“Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts.” A larger slice, a place near the front of the line, the family estate, a bigger boat, a path to power, notions of empire –– “you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts.” The family estate becomes a battleground as siblings feud over possessions and portfolios. Countless lives are lost in wars waged because some power or principality covets more land and more power. Social inequities surge as the covetous feast.
A school bus is equipped with a governor, a centrifugal regulator, that prevents a driver from speeding. “The governor is connected to a throttle valve that regulates the flow of working fluid supplying the prime mover.”(Wikipedia) When the fuel flow entering the cylinder increases to a point that would cross the speed limit, the governor reduces the aperture of the throttle valve which in turn reduces the fluid flow, and the driver’s lead foot is neutralized.
A question to ponder about cravings and coveting –– What is the governor to prevent you from losing your mind and abandoning reason when the craving comes?
James suggests –– “If you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”
–– James 3:14-18
Lord, grant us wisdom from above.
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