James 1.9-12

Thinking Heavenly in Regard to Perspective (1.9-12)

9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11 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 man will fade away even while he goes about his business.12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

James seems to divert his attention from trials and how to endure persecution and seduction by talking about the rich and the poor. Yet, these three verses give us the background for the conflict that was occurring among Christians during this time. The two sides of the coin that was bringing about all these trials were persecution of the poor from the rich, and seduction from the desires within the poor to become rich. That is why James is trying to address each group by telling them to think heavenly about their economic status. And he does this by reflecting on the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Plain. Look at the comparison:

James 1	Luke 6
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. (1.9)	Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of Heaven. (6.20)
But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position...(1.10)	But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. (6.24)

James is saying that the whole issue that is causing these trials is that each group, the poor and the rich, are having a worldly perspective, not a heavenly one. That is why James addresses each group, instructing them how to think heavenly according to their contribution to these trials. First, the rich. 

According to James, the rich have two options: 1. Humble yourselves (1.10; 4.10); or 2. Be Humbled (1.10-11). He quotes Isa. 40.6-8 when describing the mortality of man: 

A voice says, “Cry!”

And I said, “What shall I cry!”

All flesh is grass, 

and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 

The grass withers, and the flower fades

when the breath of the Lord blows on it;

surely the people are grass. 

The grass withers, the flowers fades, 

but the Word of our God will stand forever. (Isa. 40.6-8)

James’ point is that rich man cannot ensure his livelihood just because he is rich. He must humble himself and rely, not on his riches, but on God. And James reminds the rich men that they are mortal and not immortal. He says that you might die, TODAY! James’ answer is to have a heavenly perspective of who we are and who God is. We are just blades of grass that will wither away. From dust we were made, and to dust we will return. But God is eternal, all-powerful, and all the earth is His. As the rich begin to have a heavenly perspective on who they are and who God is, material persecution will fade into the annuls of life. 

According to James, the answer to stop this material persecution among the believers is for the rich to have a heavenly perspective about life. Now James turns to the poor

 to address the side of the coin that they are struggling the most with, seduction. 

We all want we don’t have. I wanted an iPad. Robin had one, Keith had one, even my MOM had one. Yet, I knew there was no real reason for me to get an iPad. I can try and come up with all kinds of reasons, like using the power point app, or reading books, using logos, etc. But when we come down to it, it was not something I needed, just something I wanted. 

Materialism is a sly fox. It is like the adulteress women in proverbs who waits on the corner to seduce the young men as they are coming home from work. This is what the poor were dealing with. They see all the luxuries of the rich, and they get greedy hands. They are jealous and want what the rich got. And James is saying, think heavenly, think heavenly. As James brought out having a heavenly perspective for the rich, he does the same for the poor. 

12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Seduction is a direct result of the sinful desires within us (as we will find out in the next section) and only leads to death. But when the poor persevere under material persecution, and withstands the seduction, he will receive the CROWN OF LIFE! The same is true of the rich, withstand persecution and seduction, and you will receive the CROWN OF LIFE. James is creating his dominant theme that will be finished in the next section, then fleshed out for the rest of the book. He is saying that thinking heavenly leads to LIFE. The wisdom from above leads to LIFE. That is why in the next section, James talks about the sources of our desires and heavenly wisdom. Not just the source, but also where these two paths lead.