James 3:14 "But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth."

But what if it is instead bitter envy and selfish ambition harboring in my heart instead of the wisdom that comes from God, the wisdom that produces a lifestyle of humility?

Both of these characteristics, bitter envy and selfish ambition root from a proud heart, the opposite of humility. Selfish ambition: seeking owns own, not caring for the interest of others, promoting and taking glory in self, these are obviously contrary to the humble attitude which lives without rights, in submission and service to God and others. And then bitter envy: jealousy of another's accomplishments, dispising the fact that they are not your own, this to is of course, pride. As C.S. Lewis says, "...Pride is essentially competitive - is competitive by its very nature... Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man."

What is to be done when these things are found in the recesses of our hearts, harboring, allowed to remain, left alone? Certainly not boasting or denying the truth. But in my life, these are the two easiest responses to sin, especially the kind that I don't feel like dealing with, the kind that I push to the back of my mind, letting it harbor there. And how do I excuse it? Exactly as this passage instructs against. I have found myself making light of the sin, and I have found myself refusing to acknowledge the truth, that it is indeed sin.

1 John 1:6-7 says, "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." My goal for today is to acknowledge and write down the sins that I have allowed to harbor in my heart on a daily basis. Then bring them to the light by confessing them to the Lord. 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Also I will find someone to pray with me, confessing sin, because as James 5:16 says," Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."