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 wildflower. 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.
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. (New International Version)
The social milieu of the New Testament world was a society firmly stratified between the rich and the poor. There were very few opportunities for uplift with the lower class. There were no laws protecting the rights of workers and the disadvantaged, and the rich often used and abused their power over them.
However, the Apostle James had a different angle, a divine perspective, on the situation.
The poor person is rich
The lowly poor person actually has a high position because their poverty enables an openness to God and leads them to rely on God’s enablement and provision.
Whenever you find yourself with few material possessions; struggle to keep food on the table; and find it difficult to pay the bills – then, you are stripped of the illusion of independence and are left vulnerable before God. In this state of humility, the believer cries to God. Trust becomes necessary for survival.
God cares about our poverty of spirit – our humble and contrite hearts. A person can be poor, but, at the same time, spiritually advantaged. We are loved by God neither because of wealth nor poverty; we are loved because that’s what God does.
It is possible to be poor, and not humble. Conversely, it is possible to be rich and trust God. Chronically complaining of a lack of funds and always desiring more money – or trying to act like we are not poor (or the rich trying to act poor) – will not get an exalted status with God.
The choice is: Will we pour our lives into things, or people? Will we define success as worldly wealth, or as acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God?
It is quite possible to have very little, but to be rich in faith and relationships.
The rich person is poor
Wealth is not bad, per se. There are plenty of godly and wealthy persons in Scripture, like Abraham and Job. The problem is people who rely on what they own rather than on God. (Luke 12:13-21)
Anyone who trusts in things is the true underprivileged person. The lack of faith and humility makes them like a sirocco wind – a hot and humid southeast to southwest wind originating as hot, dry desert-air over North Africa, and blowing northward into the southern Mediterranean basin.
The original readers knew all about these winds that could unpredictably come through their area and wither perfectly good and apparently strong plants.
The rich person who trusts in wealth is like that plant. It grows up, flourishes, and is beautiful. Yet, the next day, it is completely gone – annihilated by the hot wind. Like a cornfield in a massive hailstorm, or a flower in a severely hot sirocco wind, you can count on the biblical reality that the rich cannot stand in the judgment, if they are looking to wealth for power, control, attention, and status.
Even though it might seem the rich person is exalted, and the poor person is in a low position, in the end, the rich will suffer, and the poor will be vindicated. Faith determines success – not money. (Luke 16:19-21)
The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord made them both.
Proverbs 22:2, CEB
Blessed is the person who perseveres under a time of trial and testing of faith. God is pleased when we learn to endure hardship and let it mature us into better people. For such people, God promises to give the crown of life. God sees your hardship and promises life. This hope helps sustain us over those times when we might wonder if the trial will ever end.
Sometimes, however, we face suffering not because of the circumstances which God brings in our lives, but because of our own unwise response to difficulty. We compound our problems by blaming our troubles on others and refusing to face-up to what God is trying to teach us.
Our bruised hearts can send us desperately looking for someone to point the finger when we are confronted with our own trouble – even God.
“There are two eras in American history: the passing of the buffalo and the passing of the buck.”
Will Rogers
We are sometimes so desperate to justify ourselves that we make illogical and irrational statements, such as:
- “I would not worry about the future if I had just a little more money, and no health problems.”
- “If you knew what I’ve been through, you would know that I could never forgive that person [or God].”
- “I’ll never be happy as long as _______ is in my life.”
- “I would be more generous if God gave me more money.”
So, what will it take to stop making excuses, blaming others, and start pleasing God instead of everyone else? What will it take to face down the difficult stuff you don’t like in your life?
Don’t blame God
God cannot be tempted. God hates injustice. It is a moral impossibility for God to even consider attempting to do evil because of perfect holiness. Since God cannot be tempted by evil, God therefore cannot tempt people toward evil.
We blame others because it is a cheap, easy, and pathetic way of absolving ourselves from responsibility, unwise choices, words, and actions. There are only two ways of living with guilt: either we humble ourselves through confession and repentance; or we blame it on someone else.
God tests our faith to improve our character and bring us toward greater spiritual maturity. God does not force us to make bad, immoral, or evil choices because of hard circumstances. God may have very well brought the trial and testing into our lives; but how we respond to it, is up to us.
The source of temptation is us
The real culprit behind temptation is one’s own personal desire or lust for something. It is our own strong intense have-to-do-it, have-to-say-it, and have-to-have-it mentality which is at the root of temptation.
We all have legitimate needs and desires for love, security, companionship, and to make a difference in the world. Yet we can often seek illegitimate means to satisfy those needs. Temptation lures us to satisfy our legitimate needs in illegitimate ways, and then hooks us like a fish.
The result of giving-in to temptation is ultimately death
The Apostle James used the familiar language of childbirth to convey the consequences of sinful desires. Temptation, like a smooth operator, comes along and gives us a slick pitch about how our troubles can be taken care of through blaming others, even God.
Then, all of sudden, like a lost and lonely person desiring to be satisfied, we entertain the idea and go to bed with the idea. We sin. Now it is within us. Like a fetus, the small sin grows inside us. Eventually, this pregnancy must end. But instead of giving birth to life, there is the agony of death.
If the result of the person who perseveres under trial and endures the testing of faith is being with and enjoying God forever, so the result of the person who chooses to fulfill evil desires through succumbing to temptation is separation from God – it is death.
Conclusion
Every one of us struggles in some way with temptation. We don’t all wrestle with the same demons, but we all are tempted in some manner. The cycle of guilt and separation from God can be broken through humility and submission to Christ. The good news is that the power of sin can be broken.
Don’t let anyone fool you by using senseless arguments [blame-shifting]. These arguments may sound wise, but they are only human teachings. They come from the powers of this world and not from Christ. God lives fully in Christ. And you are fully grown because you belong to Christ, who is over every power and authority. Christ has also taken away your selfish desires, just as circumcision removes flesh from the body. And when you were baptized, it was the same as being buried with Christ. Then you were raised to life because you had faith in the power of God, who raised Christ from death. You were dead because you were sinful and were not God’s people. But God let Christ make you alive when he forgave all our sins. (Colossians 2:8-12, CEV)
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 