2 You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it.
3 And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures.
4 Unfaithful people! Don't you know that to be the world's friend means to be God's enemy? People who want to be the world's friends make themselves God's enemies.
5 Don't think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires.”
6 But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7 So then, submit to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you.
8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites!