James 4:4—You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
The anguish of a heart broken by an unfaithful spouse cannot be disguised. I have heard the lamentations of women who have been betrayed, wailing disbelief, regret, sorrow and despair. The hurt is deep. I, thankfully, can only imagine what the experience is like emotionally but whether it is personal or not, we all have some idea. Most likely, anyone who has lived for a few decades has been betrayed by someone.
In the Bible, betrayal signifies a breach of trust. It suggests deceit and abandonment. Judas Iscariot, one of twelve disciples, betrayed Jesus (Matt. 26:14-16). King David was betrayed by a trusted advisor, Ahithophel, who conspired against him with Absalom (1 Sam. 15:31). Human connections are fragile. Therefore, we must be vigilant and nurture our relationships both with people and God.1
Avoiding Adultery
In the Old Testament, Israelites who turned from God to idols were accused of adultery. Such accusations were made in Jeremaih 3:8-9. Ezekiel 6:9, 23:37, and Hosea 3:1.2
While Christians may not worship false gods, they play the harlot when they forsake God for the ways of the world. Ambition can cause us to become unfaithful when we pour our efforts into a career, goal, or talent that becomes all consuming. Money can cause us to become unfaithful. We pursue wealth instead of God and put our trust in a bank account to meet our needs. The apostle Paul wrote “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1Tim.6:10a). People pleasing can pull us from God as we compromise our beliefs for friendship, promotion, and acceptance.
How do we break our relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? Disobedience. Like Eve, in the Garden of Eden, we question truth asking, “Did God say?” when faced with decisions that test our loyalty.
In His Word
When we are unfaithful, forming a friendship with the world and forsaking God we become His enemy. Those who are a foe of God, engage in antagonistic activities against Him. They are an opponent, supporting a belief or behavior that is in opposition to God’s Word.
What are some of the characteristics we might identify that would suggest we are in this adversarial position?
–Our mind is set on the flesh (Rom. 8:7). The flesh is the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, which is prone to sin. It leans to ungodliness.3
–We refuse God’s reign over us (Luke 19:14).
— Rather than deal with sin we hide it (John 3:19).
–We choose to go our own way, instead of heeding God’s instruction (Prov. 3:7).
–We covet what we don’t have and scheme to get it (James 4:2).
–We are prideful (James 4:6), and have a high opinion of our own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority.4
James writes that God opposes the proud which indicates that He indeed is our enemy when we pridefully go our own way, refusing to surrender to His reign and rule.
Walking it Out
James is an “in your face” writer. Reading his letter to the twelve tribes of Israel, specifically those Jewish believers scattered abroad, he doesn’t seem to be concerned about hurting his reader’s feelings. But the warnings and advice he gives could be labeled agape love because it indicates he desires the very best for the people he is writing to. The antidote for adversarial behavior is humbleness he tells his readers (James 4:7). Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts he says. If they receive his advice, their loyalty will not be divided between God and the world (James 4:8).
The pairing of hands and hearts is total repentance, both external actions and internal motives. Our hands symbolize visible behavior while our hearts indicate internal motivation.
–Ask, what am I doing in defiance to God’s commandments.
–Ask, why am I acting this way and search the Word to replace sin with righteousness.5
And of course, ask for God’s forgiveness. 1 John 1:9—If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ESV
Remember that relationships are fragile. Let’s be vigilant when it comes to faithfulness. Making it a practice to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts, actions that keep us faithful to God and our bond tightknit.
© 2026 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved
Image by sasint from Pixabay
References:
- Bibledictionarytoday.com/words/betrayal/
- Enduringword.com/bible-commentary/james-4/
- Unger’s Bible Dictionary published by Moody Press
- Dictionary.com
- Biblehub.com/q/Meaning_of_cleanse_hands_purify_hearts.htm.