Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
2 Ye lust, or covet, and have not. He seems to intimate that the soul of man is insatiable, when he indulges wicked lusts; and truly it is so; for he who suffers his sinful propensities to rule uncontrolled, will know no end to his lust. Were even the world given to him, he would wish other worlds to be created for him.
Your wars come from lusts warring in your members, not from true zeal for God or country. What appears as righteous cause often shelters pride, malice, covetousness, and revenge; the root is worldly desire, and until you see that, you cannot stop fighting.
AI summary
Commenting on James 4:1-10
Ye lust, and have not,.... The apostle proceeds to show the unsuccessfulness of many in their desires and pursuits after worldly things; some might be like the sluggard, whose soul desireth all good things, and yet he has nothing, Pro 13:4 because he does not make use of any means, even of such as are proper and necessary, and ought to be used: ye kill...