James reflected on outward behaviors, but also on their inner sources long before Freud and the birth of modern psychiatry. He saw Romans, Jews and Samaritans fight each other, sometimes with weapons, but even more often with bitter words. He challenged his readers to look inward. Conflict, he said, was (and still is) often rooted not in the noble motives we try to claim for it, but in selfish wishes for more power or wealth than others have.

• When you find yourself harboring negative feelings about a political candidate, do you ever look inside yourself and ask, “What is there in me that this candidate threatens, annoys or frightens?” In what ways can James’ wisdom, encouraging us to recognize the inner sources of conflict, help us to relate in more Christ-like ways, in politics as well as other areas of life?
• We know, from American history, that political opponents accused Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt (three fourths of Mount Rushmore!) of being dishonest, trying to destroy freedom, and even more vile personal faults. What can we learn from that history when we are tempted to use, or to agree with, similar slurs aimed toward political candidates in this fall’s elections?