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Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
-James 4: 7

Whew.  Just those first few verses of this text have left me a little exasperated.  I have never given much thought to negativity being a direct connection to the devil.  Think about how easy it is to slip into negative thoughts which so often turn into negative words or actions.  It makes me wonder what can we do to negate that, how do we choose to keep Christ on our hearts, in our ears and from our mouths.  Some of it might just be some sense of awareness and self-reflection, to remind oneself that Christ would not talk this way or do these things.
 
I saw a meme recently that makes me chuckle, a subtle reminder of our life situation..

James offers us many reminders of the good that Christ intends for us and that we need to keep those at the forefront of all that we do.  It’s the last few verses of the text that bring us the good news.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Remember that to resist the devil is to embrace our identity as children of God, made in the image of God, and called to live like Christ.  If we humble ourselves surely the devil will be put on the run.

-Pastor Carrie