It makes my heart hurt to think of how these very religious people pretended to love God but were entangled in an affair with the world. James’ language is very strong here concerning half-hearted commitment. In this time period, “friendship” carried a lot of weight. It meant being unified in everything, spiritually and physically. These people knew the truth about God. They’d been taught. They’d even claimed belief. But now they wanted it both ways. They wanted to worship God (for the benefits He’d give) while still experiencing power, influence, a wealthy lifestyle, and freedom to pursue whatever they pleased. This close friendship with the world put them in direct conflict with God, who called them to humble service and sacrifice. Their compromising conduct would only lead to heartache, becoming an actual enemy of God the Father. There really is no harmful flirtation when it comes to dabbling in worldly pleasures. Materialism can never replace the eternal benefits of a relationship with God through Jesus. The world will always pull us away from God. James wanted his readers to decide once and for all: Will you follow the world’s wisdom or wisdom from above? Time is fleeting. Someday (one day soon?) the Son will appear in the clouds. Until that day, how I pray to remain steadfast, unfaltering in my commitment to Him and not caught up in the world’s ideas of happiness and success.