Devotional Series: James: More Grace
James 1:9-11 | Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 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.
What will God’s wisdom look like?
Today’s verses are like a worked example of how to be wise and it is one that seems very close to home for James’ readers. The example James picks is how to respond to wealth, or the lack of it. These believers need this wisdom if they are going to persevere faithfully and grow in godliness in the process.
- How should ‘believers in humble circumstances’ respond to being near the bottom of the heap financially (v. 9)?
This sounds very odd. These Christians don’t appear to have a high position at all, humanly speaking. But as we read on, James will remind his readers, ‘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?’ (2:5).
No one is choosing these believers for well-paid jobs now, but God has chosen them to be spiritually wealthy for all eternity. They need to hold their heads up and take pride in being among God’s chosen ones – there is no higher position. Here is a word for us too, if we are in humble circumstances.
- What is the rich person like and why? What should he or she ‘take pride in’ (vv. 10–11)?
Wild flowers are beautiful, but only very briefly. In the heat of the midday sun, they and their splendor are quickly destroyed. The rich are just like that; they look glorious now, but their lives and their glory can be gone without warning in a moment. They can’t control the future; their lives are fragile and finite, and they need to remember that! This truth needs to be ‘centre stage’ in how the rich think about themselves. They need to ‘take pride’ in it (v. 10)! Thinking like this will help them stay humble and that is the only safe place to be spiritually.
James doesn’t call these rich people ‘believers’. It may be that he is not sure they are. Some of the rich people James has in mind in this letter are clearly not behaving like believers and he will call on them to repent. Whether they do will show whether they are real believers or not.
We may not think of our financial situation as a test of our faith, but in a way it is. We need to see ourselves and our situation from God’s point of view and in the light of eternity. That is true wisdom.
Pray: Ask God for wisdom to see your own financial circumstances in this way.