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Learning Devotion and Discipline: A Brief Analysis of James

Learning Devotion and Discipline: A Brief Analysis of James

Last updated on: September 21, 2026 at 7:13 am by Alan Lechusza Aquallo

Learning Devotion and Discipline: A Brief Analysis of James 2026-09-21T07:13:22-07:00 Alan Lechusza Aquallo

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“What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

“You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God. Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? But He gives us more grace. This is why it says:

“God opposes the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.”

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

“Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who [can] save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

“Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin” (James 4 NIV).

An Honest Arrival At Uncertainty

I’m not Jewish, but I have been profoundly inspired by Jewish faith, culture, and discipline.

Photo | Shlomo Morag recording Yemenite rabbis | courtesy of Shlomo Morag recording, Wikimedia Creative Commons

Moving through the ranks of a klezmer student, I was moved by the music of Eastern Jewish klezmer equally as the uptown New York Jewish scene of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The magic of David Krakauer graced my playlists.

David Krakauer. alt (dot) klezmer, October 20, 1998.

The oppressive relationship between African American and Jewish cultures caught my attention and studies. I could relate to the oppression, suppression, disenfranchisement, socio-economic discrimination, and search for identity in a confused, dynamic postmodern geopolitical society.

I’m not Jewish, but the sounds of the culture helped open my eyes and pushed me toward a deeper desire to know about theomusicology.

The Jewish high holy days are amongst us. Rosh Hashanah has just passed, and presently it’s Yom Kippur. I took this time to reflect on how deeply influential Jewish faith, culture, and discipline have been on my past and present work.

David Krakauer. Klezmer à la Bechet, 2001.

Had it not been for my desire to know more about Jewish music and subsequently come across the culture’s intersectionality with African American music and culture, theomusicology would not have entered my purview. Added to that turning point, had it not been for my Master Teacher at the time, a klezmer genius and walking encyclopedia, who encouraged me to investigate my own culture, Hip Hop, and see what the buzz was regarding theomusicology – at that time, the discipline was recently founded by Dr. Jon Michael Spencer and focused on the Black Church and African American popular music specifically – the work I came to undertake in this area, a critical polemic-apologetic Christian Hip Hop theomusicological analysis, things would have been radically different.

It is, then, at the time of the Jewish high holy days that I return and follow an old lead, reflecting on my own faith, work, and desire to push the critical discourse of theomusicology vis-a-vis Hip Hop forward.

It is at this juncture that inner contradictions surfaced. If this is the moment to be honest, dissatisfaction walked side by side with questions; uncertainty accompanied holistic suffering.

The Analytic Methodology

It was the book of James that my mentors each pointed me toward, without any prompting or collected conversation. If this is the moment in religious time to release the past and move forward after atonement, reflection, and discipline, then embracing an unorthodox analysis is appropriate.

The opening scripture is chapter 4 from the book of James. The sobriety and direct tone that James presents is without question. This chapter in particular has been the proverbial thorn in the analytic side. Contextualizing key points from this chapter with musical examples and commentary will serve, hopefully, some who may be struggling during these uncertain times, albeit personally, professionally, spiritually, or worldly.

The depth, breadth, and weight that the scripture outlines is boundless. James challenges the reader on multiple levels throughout the five chapters of the book. Focusing on select portions from this chapter, as a reflective and reflexive theomusicological discipline, is undertaken as a devotional marker, a discipline, and with respect to the present Jewish high holy days.

Photo | Chaplain Jacob Rudin conducting Passover service | photographer unknown, courtesy of Wikimedia Creative Commons

A Polemic Apologetic Reading

Immediately, James pushes back against the war within, challenging us to question which “quarrels” and “war” we persistently hold on to (James 4:1). Following this challenge is the author’s answer: we “crave what [we] do not have.” Without the desired idol, we continue to “quarrel and fight,” but against whom?

We fight internally, with the actual lashing out against God, not seeing what provision He graciously supplies daily, no matter how big or small. James does not allow our human desires to go without criticism. We “ask with [the] wrong motives” when we do turn to God. What are we asking for?

James puts the period on the point: we “ask” for our own “pleasures” which we in turn “squander.” In six sentences, James draws out our inner friction, highlighting how it stems from our lack of appreciation for God’s grace, with greater attention given to our selfish desires.

Without stating it, James marks out actions to be more thankful for what God provides. Succinct, biting, and humbling when we consider how easy we fall into this assumed social norm. The acknowledgement of this scriptural truth is followed in the subsequent lines of verses 4-6.

“You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God. Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? But He gives us more grace. This is why it says:

“God opposes the proud,

but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:4-6 NIV, emphasis added).

Answering By Submission

James expands on the response to hear God’s voice, acknowledge His grace, and humble ourselves in His presence daily.

Taking the key words and phrases “submit,” “Draw near to God,” “purify your hearts,” “Grieve, mourn, and weep,” “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” illustrates the point.

Another six-line verse that holds no punches with submission. The middle portion of verse 9 is the inversion, the pivotal moment when we have the opportunity to step outside of selfishness and put our faith and trust back on the LORD: “Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom” (emphasis added). The compact reality and knowledge James unfolds is as patient as it is direct.

MTM Isaiah. “Addiction” (Official Video), December 26, 2024.

Know Your Place

The cyclic structure of these five sentences, two verses, is stunning. Starting with a command, “do not slander,” and ending with a question, “But who are you,” bookend the inner entanglement of the law (read: God’s commandments; His precepts) and being a judge (read: ultimate authority).

The tension is released with the use of “Lawgiver” and “Judge” as proper terms. This moves the human limitations and negative context of these terms to the domain and dominance of God. If this was not fully understood, James provides “the One” to firm the point with the direct application of God’s sovereignty and control as being the “One who [can] save and destroy.”

The quasi-sarcastic close of verse 12 follows James’ strong, specific tone: “But who are you to judge your neighbor?” (emphasis added). This is the fourth paragraph in the short chapter, which is only six paragraphs in length. The polemic to this point is on the inner struggle which is expressed externally against our neighbors (read: those in our spheres of influence).

The climax is narrated in the last two sentences of this paragraph: “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who [can] save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (verse 12). The “one Lawgiver and Judge” bows to “the One” who is the ultimate authority, the “One” who can give life and take life. Without missing a beat, the following line reflexively turns the point to the reader: “But who are you to judge your neighbor?” (verse 12).

Tied together, God’s sovereignty is acknowledged, and the limits of man’s abilities are outlined. Interesting to see the overlap of words: “only one,” “One who,” and “who are you” (emphasis added). The wordplay circumnavigates around the “One” (read: God) who is all-powerful, capable, and to be feared. This is perfectly defined in the last question of this two-verse paragraph: “But who are you to judge your neighbor?”

The fear of God is the humility and respect for God coming through the absence of judgement of others, which respects God’s creation (read: all mankind).

Tey Yahawadah. Holy (Official Music Video), July 8, 2025.

Here Now, Then Gone Tomorrow

Ephemeral. This one word is the summary of these four lines. Coming after what would be the apex of the chapter, James jabs against the reader, demonstrating the temporary nature of time, talent, and treasure, each of which is ephemeral.

Following the narrative style of the earlier verses, James places the challenge with a rhetorical question followed by harsh reality. “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! (The Challenge) What is your life? (The rhetorical question) You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (The harsh reality). The narrative style James employs cuts to the core of each theme intentionally. In doing so, there is no room for misinterpretation or misunderstanding.

James follows the book of Ecclesiastes, claiming the temporality of life, which precludes the focus from needing to be on what “business” is being carried out in “this or that city” for a specific tenure of time (“a year there”) for the sole purposes of selfish gain (“and make a profit”). Juxtapose this physical temporal action (“Today or tomorrow we will go…”) with the spiritual action James draws at the end of this verse couplet: “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (verse 14, emphasis added).

A literary, brilliant micro discourse that covers a large arc of time: “Today or tomorrow,” present and limited future; “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes,” present and eternal. The elevation articulated across these two verses is the context for the final three verses.

Image | Christian Hip Hop in the Hood | created by the author

Stopped In Your Tracks

James offers the reader the opportunity to repent, reconcile, and return to the LORD. The opportunity comes (“ought to say”) after the acknowledgement (“Instead”). This grants the readers the application of how to live, again, through God’s sovereignty: “If the Lord is willing.”

Submission is the logical outcome (“do this or that”), but as limited entities destined to sin, we fall victim to pride (“you boast in your proud intentions”). Mincing no words, James closes the chapter with a clear acknowledgement of pride (read: boasting), and how, as limited beings who rest on our own desires, we know what to do, but elect to do the contrary. “Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin” (verse 17).

If we put this last verse against the opening verse of the chapter, the interconnected circles are present but may not be readily visible.

“What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures (verses 1-3, emphasis added).

“Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin” (verse 15-17, emphasis added).

The entire chapter bookends itself, with the hinge on “the One” (verse 12). The inner conflict is a result of instinctive resistance to authority. The result of the resistance is a failure of self, a guilt of pride, a sin.

The chapter is short, relative to other books in the bible. But it does not lack the intent and power of scriptural knowledge. The fascinating cyclic nature of the chapter points out inner conflict with a resolution by way of a reminder: “Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin” (verse 17). Time is limited; talents are graciously given, and treasures are not capable of supplying life.

What James does is present these earthly desires in the context of what keeps us fighting internally while taking out frustration on God. As a result, pride becomes a fictional shield, which is believed to protect us from external causes of pain and suffering. In reality, as James threads, pride is a real shield we hide behind from God, knowing what we ultimately should do (read: surrender to the LORD’s will), yet choose not to do it, which cripples our temporary lives and is represented in the action of sin.

We fall short, as it were, from surrendering to God, putting boasting in front of our actions and knowledge of what we know to do that is correct, doing the opposite instead to satisfy cravings of time, talent, and treasure, that remain at the center of our inner struggles, the war within. James doesn’t ask with whom we are fighting, but references our “hostility toward God” (verse 4), questioning the clear result Scripture has stated and defined,

“God opposes the proud,/ but gives grace to the humble” (verse 6; Proverbs 3:34).

New Creation. Can’t Keep Me Down (Official Music Video), January 1, 2026.

I’m not Jewish, but my history was shaped by the study, discipline, and respect for Jewish culture, faith, belief, artistic expression, and hope. It was my time being immersed in Jewish music and culture that led my Master Teachers to push against my desire to embrace Judaism. They clearly saw what James points out: I was fighting an inner battle, putting my trust in ephemeral time, talent, and treasures, boasting of what I desired, making rash judgments against events, people, and myself, with the hope that tomorrow would be better than today all on its own, without God’s grace or His will as guidance in my life, but knowing what I should have been doing, but chose to do something else, lest I boast in my own pride.

I’m not Jewish, but as I learned from that time close to Jewish teachers and artists, when the time is available to reflect and start anew, reflect, repent, and return to God, asking for His will so that I may live to do this or that, as God provides through the grace that He gives.

To read more from Alan Lechusza Aquallo’s “The Sweatpant Sessions,” please consider subscribing for free and check out others on Patheos.

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About Alan Lechusza Aquallo

Dr. Alan Lechusza is a scholar whose name has become synonymous with critical thought and cultural discourse. He is a thinker and writer who explores popular culture with a critical eye. He holds a PhD and uses his deep, resource-rich understanding to question and redefine how we see art, power, and knowledge. His research covers various topics that aim to break down and rebuild our ideas about culture, artistry, and socio-political authority. Dr. Lechusza closely examines everyday cultural expressions in ways that challenge conventional thinking. His writings make people think and view culture in new ways. Dr. Alan Lechusza wants to create conversations to inspire change and challenge our understanding of how we experience the world. You can read more about the author here.

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