James 4:1-10 / Mark 9:30-37
Most predators do not hunt for sport or for fun; they hunt for food and for survival.
Surely the hunting process would include killing the prey but that is the law of nature, and part of the food chain cycle.
What the 1st reading said seems to make human beings, not just like animals but even worse than animals.
From the desires fighting inside ourselves, we get obsessed with something but we can't seem to get it.
We are even prepared to kill, and when the ambition cannot be satisfied, we are prepared to fight to get our way by force.
We may think that it is an over-statement, yet the evidence is that in the history of humanity, there are wars and battles that have resulted in much blood-shed.
Even if that is in a figurative sense of the term, the psychological wars and battles have resulted in much stress and trauma and made life miserable.
And to stop this vicious damaging cycle, the 1st reading reminds us that God wants us for Himself alone.
God opposes the proud but He gives generously to the humble. And it is only with the heart of a child that we can draw nearer to God, and He will draw even nearer to us.
Only with the heart and the humility of a child then we will be able to let go of our desires and ambitions and be filled generously with the peace and joy that God wants to generously give us.