An Eternal Perspective | James 1:9-1

I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 1, and today we will be looking at verses 9 through 11. As an indication of our honor and reverence for the perfect, infallible, all sufficient Word of God, I invite you, if you able to stand as we read God’s word.

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

—James 1:9-11

I was born and raised in Illinois and lived the first 48 years of my life in Illinois, before moving here to South Dakota in 2011. Growing up in Illinois, I was born and raised as a fan of the Chicago Bears. It’s in my blood. There have been many times that I wished I could like another team. So many disappointments, so much heartache, but I just can’t. They are my team.

When I lived in Illinois, every Bears game was shown live on TV in that market, and I would watch with hope each week. Since moving to South Dakota, there is another team which will not be mentioned, that dominates the Sunday afternoon TV schedule. So, in order to be able to watch all of the Bears games, I subscribed to an NFL.com package that allows me to watch their games, not live, but I can watch the game from beginning to end immediately after the game ends.

Now for any of you who have ever tried to watch a recorded game without hearing what the final score was first, you know that that is virtually impossible. Someone always tells you, or you see it rolling across the bottom of the screen, somehow you find out. So, I don’t even try. I just look at what the score ended up being, and then I watch the game.

Now one of the things that is interesting about knowing the final score as the game goes on, is that it puts everything in perspective right up front. If I know we’re going to win, I’m not so upset with the first half turnovers or a missed field goal. And if I know we’re going to lose, I don’t get too excited about the 21-point first half lead.

Or maybe you are one who has binge watched a show or watched a movie and then watched it again. Knowing the end, now some of the scenes make more sense. Maybe you’ve said to yourself, “Oh, I didn’t get that the first time through, but now I see how that fits in. Now I see how that was important to the story.”

Or maybe you are like one of my daughters-in-law, in that when you pick up a book to read, you read the last chapter first, so you know the ending. Then you can appreciate all the intricacies of the plot twists as you read the book, knowing the ending.

The truth is, that knowing the ending not only gives us knowledge of the ultimate result, but it gives us information that informs and regulates our emotional and physical reactions to the circumstances that happen along the way. We react more appropriately to what is happening around us. We see things in a proper perspective. Our actions and reactions are filled with more wisdom and discernment.

Today we come to James 1, verses 9 to 11, which upon first reading almost seem out of place. In verse 2 James is talking about meeting trials of various kinds. In verse 5 James is talking about seeking wisdom from God to meet various trials. We’ll see next week in verse 12, James talks about remaining steadfast under trial. But in verse 9 to 11 it feels like we’re taking a left turn into finances. 

But in fact, these verses fit here perfectly. James provides us with two interrelated examples of trials of various kinds. These are two different, but very similar trials that will test our faith. Two situations for which we need the wisdom of God to handle them wisely. And they are trials that impact every person in this room. There is no one who isn’t impacted in some way by the trial of finances. As I read the scripture for today, I’m guessing that immediately everyone here very quickly put yourself into one of the two categories. You likely almost without even thinking put yourself either in the category of “lowly brother” or “rich brother”. This passage is relevant to all.

Here are two financial circumstances for which we need wisdom from God. And the Lord in his gracious kindness towards us, provides us with wisdom. He provides us with perspective to think about these things rightly and in faith.

My outline for today is three points. First, The Trial of Poverty. Second, The Trial of Prosperity. And Third, The Wisdom of Perspective.

THE TRIAL OF POVERTY

First, the trial of poverty. In verse 9 we read, “Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation.”

First of all, it is important to note that this is written to a brother. This is meant for those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus.

But it is not just any brother, but specifically a lowly brother. The word here means primarily, and especially in this context when set alongside the rich brother, someone who is not financially well off in this world.

It is someone who doesn’t have much when it comes to worldly wealth. Someone who is probably living paycheck to paycheck. Or maybe who is even without work or at least without full-time work. Debt is piling up. Bills are going past due. Medical bills are piling up. Unexpected expenses are seeming to appear around every corner. And there just isn’t enough money to get it all done. The financial pressures are getting heavier and heavier and heavier by the day, and there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel. This is the lowly brother.

The admonition to this brother is to boast. Now when we hear that word, boast, it probably very quickly has a negative connotation in your mind. Boasting is bad. And if we are boasting about ourselves, it is bad. But the boasting that is in mind here is not a boasting in oneself, but a boasting in the Lord. We see an example of this in Psalm 44:8, which says, “In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever.”

So, this is a boasting not in self, but in something else: in his exaltation. The poor brother is to boast in the fact that Ephesians 2:4-6 is true for them. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up (exalted) with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” 

The poor brother is to boast in who they are in Christ and what Christ has done for them. James says that the answer to this trial, the wisdom of God for this trial is to focus not on what we don’t have, but to focus on all we do have in Christ.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But it’s not easy. It’s like trying to not think about an elephant when someone tells you not to think about an elephant. When the debt collectors are calling, and there isn’t enough to pay the bills, and your income is shrinking while the expenses are growing, and day after day your financial woes are staring you in the face how can I not think about all that I need? It’s a good question.

But I believe that Jesus has a word for you today in what he had John write to church in Smyrna recorded in Revelation 2. There Jesus says to his church, “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) ….Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

If you are the poor brother today, I believe that God wants you to know that he knows. He knows your trial and your tribulation and your poverty. He sees your daily struggle. He is not ignorant of or indifferent to what you are going through. He knows. He is aware. He loves you and he is right there is the battle with you. And he is encouraging you to be faithful in your current poverty.

But Jesus also wants you to know that he doesn’t see you as poor. He sees you as rich. “I know your poverty, but you are rich.”

The temptation, the testing, the trial of poverty is that we would turn our attention away from all we have in Christ and turn our attention to all that we don’t have in this world. To that trial James says, boast in your exaltation.

If Jesus sees us as rich, as followers of Christ, we should shift our perspective to match his. And that raises the question, “In what ways am I rich in Christ?”

The answer to that is far longer than the few minutes I have to devote to it today, but I do want to share one practical way that you can keep the riches of Christ in the forefront of your mind. 

One of the things we often talk about here is preaching the gospel to yourself every day. It is a daily reminder to yourself of all that Jesus has done for you as one of his followers and all that you are in Christ.

Jerry Bridges in his book “The Discipline of Grace” says that “To preach the gospel to yourself means that you continually face up to your own sinfulness and then flee to Jeus through faith in His shed blood and righteous life.” It is daily reminding us of why, in Christ, we are rich.

In his book, Bridges recommends preaching 5 truths to yourself every day.

First, in Christ I am forgiven.

Romans 4:7-8 - Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. You are forgiven! 

Second, in Christ I am not condemned.

Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” You stand completely free of condemnation!

Third, in Christ I am free from the curse of the law.

Galatians 3:13 – “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” The law has no more claim on you!

Fourth, in Christ you are made alive.

Colossians 2:13 – “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.” You have been moved from death to life!

Fifth, in Christ you are holy and blameless.

Colossians 1:22 – “he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,” You are not only forgiven but the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to you so that God sees you as holy and blameless.

As we remind ourselves of these truths every day, we will find ourselves boasting in our exaltation, regardless of our financial situation. We are rich in Christ.

THE TRIAL OF PROSPERITY

Second, the trial of prosperity. That sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Trial of prosperity. Kind of like being ‘clearly misunderstood.’ Or being ‘pretty ugly.’ Trial of prosperity? Sign me up! I’m ready to Count it all joy. This is a trial I think I can sink my teeth into. Bring it on!

We don’t often think of prosperity as a trial, but that is exactly how it’s presented not only here in James, but throughout all of Scripture. Throughout Scripture there is warning after warning of how wealth can draw God’s people away from him.

In Deuteronomy 8 we see a great example of this as God warns his people as he is about to bring them into the Promised Land. In the first part of that chapter God tells them of all the good things in the land he is about to bring them into. They will have plenty of good food to eat. Their herds and their flocks will multiply; their wealth will increase greatly. And then in verse 17 and 18 God gives this warning: “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth…

In Jeremiah chapter 9 God tells us how the wise man should think about his wealth. “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight declares the Lord.”

One of the trials that the rich of this world have to wrestle with is the temptation toward pride. And that is why here in James the rich of this world are exhorted to boast not in their riches, but they are to boast in their humiliation.

The word we find here for humiliation is the same root word we read in Philippians 2 about Jesus who though he was God, came to earth in the flesh in the likeness of men. And in Philippians 2:8 we read, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

The command in James to the believer in Jesus Christ who is rich, is to humble yourself, following in the footsteps of your Savior who humbled himself so that we might have eternal life. Pride was not the way of Christ, and it should not be the way of the rich in this life either.

So how does one who is rich in this world boast of his humiliation? How does he or she stay humble? Just as the poor brother needs to remind themselves each day of the riches they have in Christ, the rich brother should do that too. But the rich brother also needs to remind himself of something else continually. And that is that they are in need of what only Christ can provide.

Again, what Jesus has to say to the churches in Revelation is instructive. This time it is his word to the church in Laodicea. This is the ‘neither hot nor cold’ church Jesus says he will spit out of his mouth. He says he is going to spit them out of his mouth and then in verse 17 Jesus tells them why. “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”

They are lukewarm toward Christ because they think they have everything they need outside of him. They have forgotten that, in fact, Christ is all they need. He is the only thing they need. This is one of the temptations of riches. It was a temptation for the Israelites going into the promised land, it was a temptation for those in Jeremiah’s day, and it is a temptation for us today. It is a trial for which we need faith, and for which we need to ask God for wisdom.

Proverbs 30:8-9 is instructive when we think about the trials surrounding poverty and wealth. “Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”

Proverbs 30:8-9 is the wisdom of God for our finances. Lord, give me only what I need. Don’t give me too little, because that might tempt me away from you. And God, don’t give me too much because that may make me forget my need for you. In other words, Lord give me only what I need, give me my daily bread, because I desire nothing more than following you. If there is anything that would tempt me away from you, I don’t want it. Even if that thing is prosperity. Whatever economic state in which we find ourselves, the perspective of faith tells us that we must boast only in Jesus and the status that His kingdom grants us. Among his people neither wealth nor poverty makes us better in his eyes. We must treasure him alone and nothing that this world has to offer. 

THE WISDOM OF PERSPECTIVE

Third, the wisdom of perspective. In this text James gives us two perspectives that we need to keep in mind as we seek to glorify God through the trials that come our way in our finances. Two pictures that reveal to us the final score, the last chapter of the book. Two truths that should help us to put all of the trials of life in their proper categories.

First is the perspective of the brevity of life. The reason given for why the rich man should boast in his humiliation is given in verse 10. “because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.” This is not a warning that the riches will pass away. It’s not about the riches. It says that HE will pass away. The rich man will pass away. This is a warning about the brevity of life.

When I first started my career as a CPA for what is now RSM, we had a manufacturing client that was extremely successful. The owner was in his mid-thirties and ended up selling his company for tens of millions of dollars to another, larger company. He was not even 40 years old and set for life. He built the largest, nicest house in the nicest neighborhood in town. Tammy and I walked through the house once, it took about a half hour to walk through. He had it all. House, cars, travel, leisure. And not even two years later he was dead.

This week my sister-in-law’s mother passed away at the good old age of 92. A long, full life. But in the view of eternity, a vapor. 30 years, 90 years, 100 years? We are all like grass, like the flower of the field. Glorious for a moment, but not for long.

Psalm 39:4 says, “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

Now this truth is not meant to scare us, or depress us, but it is meant to wake us up. If life is fleeting, and it is, then why would I put my hope in what is passing away? It’s like trying to eat an ice cream cone outside in the sun on a 100-degree day. You might get a few good licks in, but it ends up just being a mess.

Rather, knowing the brevity of life, we should put our hope in what is lasting, what is eternal. 1 Peter 1:24-25, using the same language that we find in James says this: “All flesh is like grass and all it glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

It is the word of the Lord that remains forever. Let us boast in Christ and all that he is to us for all eternity.  

Second is the perspective of the surpassing worth of Christ. 

The trial for the poor brother and the rich brother is the same. One is tempted by the lack of wealth in this world and the other is tempted by an abundance of wealth in this world. But the trial is the same. It is the temptation to take our attention away from the glorious Christ and to focus our attention on the things of this world.

And James means to remind us, poor or rich that there is nothing in this world that can compare to what we have in Christ.

Imagine with me if we had a big scale here in the balance.

On this side of the scale, the lowly brother places his lack of income, rising debts, a broken-down car, rising costs for health insurance, utilities, unemployment, debt collection calls, credit card debt, rising grocery bills. And then we add worry, and arguing, and relational strife, and loss, and grief, and feelings of shame and unworthiness. This side is very heavy. It is.

But then on this side of scale we place surpassing greatness of the glorious Christ, who has conquered death and the grave. And the scale flips. What was so heavy is now light in comparison to the glory of Christ.

Paul said it this way. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are seen are eternal.

Now the scale is empty again. Now the rich brother starts placing his stuff on the scale. Cars, boats, bank accounts, your 85” TV, 401(k)’s, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, real estate, businesses, houses, vacation homes, travel, jewelry, , success, image, reputation, status, all the things that seem valuable in this life. It’s a pretty impressive haul.

But then on this side of the scale we place the surpassing greatness of the glorious Christ, who won the victory and will reign forever and ever. And again, the scale flips. What seemed so valuable pales in comparison.

Paul said it this way. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I might gain Christ. 

So poor or rich, let us boast in Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is our Savior. He is all that we need.