Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. — James 1:9–12 (NKJV)
I can see this lesson—I think. I’ve sometimes been impressed with Christianity’s lack of concern for status or wealth, though it could be better. The rest of our society is worse.
My wife has a bunch of Girl Scout buddies who love to get together. They come from all levels of society. Some of them can barely afford to travel to their get-togethers. Others fly first class.
But when they’re together, none of that matters. Instead, it’s who knows how to tie a particular knot, or the best way to cook corn in a campfire. In the Girl Scouts’ universe, what matters is Girl Scout things. Many of the things that matter in our world aren’t important in theirs.
Christianity is like that. It’s separate from the secular world.
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” — John 18:36
Like the Girl Scout universe, Jesus’s kingdom has its own priorities. Wealth, fame, power, and all other forms of status in our culture mean nothing to this King.
And do not miss why the lowly brother [should] glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation. It’s because these things are as transient as a flower of the field. They mean nothing; the eternal means everything.
This sets up an interesting segue to James’s discussion of temptation. Unlike riches, temptation connects to the eternal. The one who resists temptation will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
That last part is curious. Why not just say, “will receive the crown of life”? Why add, “which the Lord has promised to those who love Him”?
Because it forces a connection between loving Him (Jesus) and resisting temptation. This is made clearer by deconstructing the Greek word that’s translated as love here (ἀγαπῶσιν, agaposin). It’s a conjugation of the verb love, which is related to the noun agapé, which means sacrificial love—giving priority to someone other than yourself.
I can see this in terms of loving your neighbor, but what does it mean to love God?
It’s pretty much the same idea. Loving Jesus means giving priority to Him. This explains John 14:21a. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.” (ESV)
So, loving God means obeying Him?
Yes. Loving God means prioritizing Him over your own things. If you give in to temptation, then the Lord is not your top priority. That’s not agapé.
That’s weird. I don’t think of obedience as love.
Yeah, we don’t usually think in term of that extreme level of subservience, but we should. This is an eye-opening lesson on how inferior we are to God.
Consider this. How can my dog best love me?
I suppose, by being a good dog.
Yeah, but what does that mean? She thinks it means making sure that anyone who comes to our house is scared off by her barking.
But that’s not really useful. How she can actually love me is by obeying my rules—most importantly, by not peeing on the carpet. She knows the rules, sort of, but she has no idea which one is most important.
But all she really needs to know is that loving me means obeying my rules. If she does that, then she’s a good dog. Have cookie.
And this concept applies to us?
In spades. The gap between us and God is greater than the gap between my dog and me.
That’s pretty humbling.
It’s supposed to be. We do have one advantage though. We can understand what God wants. My dog can only see that I’m angry; she can only guess what she did wrong from the context.
That’s why the experts say that you can’t punish dogs for pee you discovered after the fact; they won’t understand why you’re upset. If you don’t catch them in the act, you just have to clean it up and forget about them learning anything from that event.
But humans have more clues—especially the Bible. We can read what God wants.
So, you think you know what God wants?
I know that God doesn’t want me to give in to temptation. Let’s continue this tomorrow.
