James 4:1 (LSB)

Passage

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?

Nearby Context

James 4:1 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?

James 4:2 You lust and do not have, so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "source", "quarrels", "conflicts", "pleasures", "wage", and "members". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "source" and "quarrels", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "You lust and do not have so...", so "source" and "quarrels" should be read forward into that movement. In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "source" and "quarrels" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.