1 Why are you always fighting each other? And why are you always arguing with each other? You are doing those things because you keep wanting all kinds of things. You become upset and you don't have any peace. 2 You keep on wanting different things. If you can't have them, you are jealous and angry and kill people. You keep on wanting everything. And when you don't get them, you fight and argue with each other. You do not get what you want because you do not ask God for it. 3 And when you ask God, you do not get what you want, because you don't want what God wants but you want everything for yourself.
4 You bad people, you have run away from God. You go around with people who are always doing wrong as if you hate God and get angry with him.
5 Let us think about this word from God's book. “God has given us his Spirit, and the Spirit wants us for himself.” That was not written carelessly, it is true. 6 But God makes us strong. That is why this word was also written long ago. “God will make you strong if you are not proud but you trust in him.”
About obeying God
7 So obey God and fight against Satan. When you fight him he will run away. 8 And come close to God. When you come close to him, he will come close to you. You bad people, don't sin any more. You want to follow God's way and you want to follow Satan's way too, but you can't go both ways. So make sure you follow God's way today with one mind.
9 Look! Don't be happy and laugh, but cry and wail in sadness. 10 And when you pray to God, don't be proud but bow down to him and he will lift you up.
About not blaming each other
11 Brothers and sisters, don't blame each other saying, “You did something wrong today.” Stop that kind of talk. When God's people blame each other, it is like saying, “God's law is no good.” If you say that, you are not obeying God's law. And that is like deciding if God's law is good or bad.
12 God is the only one who has given us the law. Only God can decide if we are good or bad. He is the only one who can save us or make us die. So who do you think you are, you who keep deciding about each other if you are good or bad?
About not being proud
13 Now listen to me, you proud people. Some of you say, “Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, I will go away somewhere else. I will stay there for one year and work and get a lot of money.” 14 But you don't know about tomorrow. You know what mist is like. At dawn it rises and covers everything. Then when the sun gets higher, the mist quickly disappears. It doesn't last long, it just covers everything for a little while. And you will live here in the world for a short time like the mist.
15 You know nothing about tomorrow. So you should say, “If God wants me to stay here and keep busy, then I will stay and do that.”
16 But you people are proud and you talk a lot. But that's not good, because you don't know about tomorrow. 17 If any of you know about doing good but you don't do it, you are very bad.
