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4:2 You allow your heart to become so consumed with longing for something until you are ready to kill for it. Then you are still not satisfied. What you want keeps evading you; you quarrel and strive, and you just can’t get it. If you are desperately unfulfilled why don’t you simply ask God to give you what you need? (This is in such contrast to the wisdom from above, see 3:17. Also James 1:5, The only thing you could possibly lack is wisdom [One might sometimes feel challenged beyond the point of sanity]; however, make your request in such a way that you draw directly from the source [not filtered through other opinions]. God is the origin and author of wisdom; he intertwines your thoughts with good judgment. His gifts are available to all, without regret.)

4:3 You have asked, but God seems reluctant to give it to you, you may say. But when your motivation is to get something just so that you can squander it on yourself, you are doing it all wrong. (This is like expecting God to support your own futile efforts to justify yourself. See James 1:2-4, 17, 18, 23-25.)

4:4 Adultery, whether it is the husband or the wife who does the flirting, is destructive. Can’t you see that even though the world system might approve of such behavior, it is contrary to God’s design for you? Whose friend do you want to be? Are you prepared to distance yourself from God [and the life of your design] just to win the plastic applause of the world?

4:5 Scripture is not quoting empty words when it states that God yearns with jealous expectation over the spirit which he has made to inhabit us.

4:6 His gift of grace [1:17] is in direct opposition to the vanity of the proud mindset of self effort, whereby people strive to prove themselves as superior to others. Gift and reward are opposites. Humility attracts grace.

4:7 Your most effective defense against any diabolical mindset, is to yield yourselves in total abandonment to God, and there encounter his dream-life for you. You will witness how effortlessly those thoughts flee from you. (The word diabollos, from diaballo, dia, because of, and ballo, to cast down; to accuse, to make false and defamatory statements against someone. This points to the devilish fallen mindset-system which has engaged generations in the blind-fold mode of pride and accusation, by not seeing the image of God in human life.)

4:8 Snuggle up to the warm embrace of God; experience his closeness. The sinner can come with all stains washed from his hands; the double-minded can come with a purified heart. (In Christ every definition of distance or delay is canceled.)

4:9 This is not a mere blase yielding. Realizing the misery that you have brought upon yourself and others is often accompanied by intense grief and weeping. This is no place for superficial laughter and make-belief joy; nor any occasion for boasting. (Your futile efforts to justify yourself through striving and fighting only reinforce your nakedness. The perfect law of liberty, unveiling the mirror message declares your redeemed innocence through the finished work of Christ.)

4:10 Put down your own efforts to fight for your rights; let him lift you up to the dignity of his 1presence. (The word translated, presence, 1enopion means in the gaze of; face to face. See your own face reflected in his. There is no higher elevation to engage in.)

4:11 Gossip is out; to bad-mouth and point your finger at your brother is to insult the law of liberty; you put yourself up as a law enforcer and thereby assume that you are above scrutiny.

4:12 God is the one who endorses the law of perfect liberty. That makes him the only judge with power to save. He rendered the law of performance completely irrelevant. He never handed you the power of attorney to judge anyone.

4:13 Hey, you’ve got your year planner out and can already taste the profits in all your business ventures; you’re going big; travel, and trade from city to city.

4:14 Meanwhile, you have no handle on tomorrow. Your life is like a mist that is visible for a short while before it evaporates.

4:15 My best advice for you is to wrap up all your plans and conversations in the delightful resolve of God.

4:16 Don’t be so cocksure about your dreams for the future. Plans that presumptuously exclude God’s opinion end up to be 1full of labors, annoyances, and hardships. (The word, 1poneros, is described in Thayer's Lexicon to mean, full of annoyances, hardships, and labors; often translated as evil.)

4:17 To turn a blind eye to an obvious opportunity to do good is 1out of character. (The word, 1hamartia, comes from ha, meaning without and meros, meaning portion or form, distorted behavior, often translated as sin.)

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