God’s Word is filled with paradoxes…what’s a paradox?…a paradox is “a statement that is seemingly contradictory…like…eating foods that are green are good for you…or are opposed to common sense and yet are perhaps true … some examples from the Bible:
• Paul said, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10)
• Jesus said, “Anyone who finds his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life because of me will find it” (Matt. 10:39).
• Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant.” (Mark 10:43)
• Jesus said, “The last will be first, and the first last.”
All those statements catch our attention because they sound contradictory at first, until you think about them….verses 9 and 10 of James are a paradox.
VERSE 9 – But let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position:
VERSE 10 – and let the rich man glory in his humiliation.
God uses paradoxical verses like this to cause us to pause…to slow down and think deeper about it.
For the past three weeks we have looked at what James has said concerning trials in the life of a Christian and how to face them…James’s response in itself is a paradox…He says to look upon trials with joy, endurance, and wisdom…sounds a little contradictory…but the results are spiritually beneficial.
Before we look at these two paradoxes we need to observe a couple things.
Notice James refers to one person as ‘brother’ [9] …but the other [10] only as ‘the rich man.’
This causes us to look at these two verses in entirely different ways…it suggests one is a Christian and the other is not…WHY…in Scripture Christians are called ‘brothers’ or saints…the lost are never referred to as God’s children [Eph. 2:3].
As part of God’s creation, we may all be brothers and sisters in the ‘family of humanity’ BUT…that doesn’t make us ‘brothers and sisters in Christ.’
James doesn’t say ‘the rich brother’ like when referring to the brother of humble circumstance…but only as the one who is rich.
Therefore, when you find in Scripture the word ‘brother’ you should understand the reference is being made to a Christian.
Secondly…As we progress through the book of James a repeated theme that is woven throughout is the contrast between the rich and the poor.
Here James is bringing together the teaching of something that is seen throughout the Old Testament and in the teachings of Jesus.
James is picking up on the teachings in both the Old and New Testaments that God has a particular concern for the poor…including widows and orphans.
James says one aspect of pure religion is…to visit orphans and widows in their distress [1:27] …because the person who neglects or ignores the physical needs of any of these three…the poor…orphans…or widows…James says their faith is dead [2:15-16].
Thirdly…at times Jesus does contrast the poor and the rich…Blessed are you who are poor… But woe to you who are rich (Luke 6:20, 24).
Now…it is wrong to assume in all cases that the Bible automatically identifies the poor as being humble and the rich as being wicked.
That goes along with the common misplaced idea in Christianity that people who have money are wicked oppressors…arrogant…greedy and self-reliant…who have no need for God because they trust in money.
That idea is uncharacteristic of all people with money because the Bible gives evidence of many wealthy men who did follow God and were blessed with wealth from God…Job… Abraham…David…Solomon and others.
God is not anti-wealth…He does not condemn earthly riches.
Back to the man of ‘humble circumstances’ [9], that word is the translation of a single Greek word (ταπεινὸς) describing a person in two ways:
FIRST…it can describe a person who depends on the Lord rather than self…it’s the same root word found in Phil. 2:8 describing Jesus.
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
SECONDLY…It can also describe any person who is lowly in spirit…or position…or in poverty as used here…someone who is in a humble state feeling powerless and in despair about how little they have.
As a result, we might consider someone with ‘humble circumstances’ as a person who is living below the standards of the world…a person who is downtrodden or of lowly character.
There’s actually quite a bit of debate about what James is saying since he doesn’t clearly explain it…we’re left to discern the meaning by considering the context.
In verse [9, 10] James identifies two types of people who will be tested…one will be tested in poverty and the other tested in their wealth… although tested differently…both will need faith and wisdom to face the test.
In [9] it seems that James is primarily dealing with people who lack financial resources but the term ‘humble circumstances’ could also have reference to those who might be looked down upon in society for various reasons… disabilities…limited education…old age…or ethnic background.
People are tempted to become discouraged because they evaluate themselves by society’s wrong standards…not educated enough…not wealthy enough… not beautiful enough…not athletic enough resulting in insecurity and even depression.
The poor are challenged with the temptations that comes with having limited financial resources…it does restrict our choices…for example…if we have no money our power to act is limited.
The test is in trusting God to provide what they need…the temptation is to doubt God to provide that need by taking matters into their own hands.
They may steal for what they need all the while asking… “Where is the Lord?” He hasn’t provided yet…where is He when you need Him?
The rich will be challenged with the temptation to rely on their money to meet their needs…unlike the poor person the rich person may be elevated in society because of their wealth and abilities.
As a result, people celebrate them…rejoice in their success and want to be friends with them causing them to think more highly of themselves than they ought to possibly causing them to drift away from God saying…God, who needs Him?
The poor are more likely to turn to God in the midst of their trials…praying and seeking God’s wisdom because they see God as their only hope…whereas the rich are more likely to trust in their finances instead of God in their trials.
Both poverty and wealth are trials that can hinder our spiritual growth if we don’t respond to them well…that is in essence what Proverbs 30:8-9 says:
Give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you…and if I am poor I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name (NLT).
Now…with respect to people of ‘humble circumstances’ James is encouraging them to take pride in their high position by having them focus more on their spiritual status instead of what the world says about them.
Being in humble circumstances through spiritual eyes is actually a good thing because of their position as co-heirs with Christ…as well as in the future when one day they will inherit the earth and be recipients of God’s rewards.
BUT what is James referring to when he says for the rich to rejoice in their humiliation?
James is telling the rich that they need to humble themselves against the temptation of trusting in their wealth and place their trust in God.
Just as oddly as James says that the poor man is exalted…he says the rich man is humbled…and not only is he to be humbled…but that he should boast about it or be proud of the fact that he is humbled.
Again…this is where this verse becomes complicated…it’s not usually natural to think of a rich person being humble…but…if this person is a Christian then it is natural for someone who is in Christ and wealthy to be humbled before God.
To be clear…this humiliation is not an embarrassment…it carries the idea of taking a lower position…of being brought low…the humbling of oneself by confessing that as a person…wealthy or not… ‘I am nothing.’
Realizing that their wealth brings them no closer to God or of any greater value to God than the poorest saint…therefore they are not to boast in their wealth…but in their humble status as a servant of God…because ultimately:
VERSE 10…like flowering grass he will pass away
Throughout Scripture man is compared to…or ‘like’ grass that withers:
1 Peter 1:24 — All flesh is like grass
Psalm 103:15 — As for man, his days are like grass
Isaiah 40:6-7 — All flesh is grass
Isaiah 51:12 — man who is made like grass
This is illustrating the brevity and uncertainty of life…a statement that applies to the frailty of life…a statement to awaken the conscience of the rich man who because he has plenty is prone to forget that these are passing riches.
In verse 11 James describes how speedily the prideful pursuits of a rich man will pass away:
VERSE 11 – For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass: and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed: so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.
It’s amazing how much stuff some people can own…Jay Leno…comedian and former Tonight Show host, is a noted car freak….he has a collection of more than 200 vehicles that rivals any museum in the world…total around $350 million.
When he dies someone else will own all those cars…everything we own will one day belong to someone else…we don’t own anything…everything has been loaned to us…how long will our riches last?…at best until the end of our lives… and there’s no guarantee not even that long.
Here’s what at times we fail to remember…the ultimate ownership of everything we have…resources…money…possessions…and abilities are all God owned.
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it” (Psalm 24:1).
He has merely entrusted the management of them to us…for one reason…to complete His purpose.
We have no right to claim ownership of anything we have…in the meantime… rather than focusing on our material status…we should be focused on our spiritual status because ultimately that will determine our eternal destiny…as such we should all have similar looking boasts.
That’s the application part of this sermon…we are all part of God’s family…one day we will live where there is no more struggle and none will lack anything… therefore we should all boast in Jesus as suggested by Jeremiah [9:23-24].
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….
How many of us can honestly say that…that we understand and know Him…
at the end of the day…either rich…poor…or somewhere in between we can look forward in confidence to a future where we will live in abundance forever.