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For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
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but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
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Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
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Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
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Listening and Doing
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
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because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
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Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
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Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
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Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
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Faith and Deeds
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?
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In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
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But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
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You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
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You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
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As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
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but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
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Two Kinds of Wisdom
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
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But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
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Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
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Submit Yourselves to God
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
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You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.
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Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
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There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
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remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
