Author: mary

What does the Bible say of the rich? James 1:10-11 tells us, “And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.” Does this mean that every rich person is doomed to fade away with all of their achievements? Do not miss what James says the rich should do. They should boast of how the Lord has humbled them. The difference between those who use their riches to please themselves and the rich who use their riches to glorify God is humility. Those who glorify God and live their lives for Him will see God do amazing things in them and through them.

Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31? The rich man lived in luxury everyday and paid no attention to Lazarus, the sick and poor man who sat at his gate everyday hoping to get scraps from the poor man’s table. When they both died, Lazarus went to live in heaven and the rich man saw no relief in the “place of the dead.” Even in hell, he still paid no respect to Lazarus and asked that he would come and bring him relief. He saw Lazarus as nothing but someone poor and more lowly than himself. His riches clouded his view of who he was and who Lazarus was.

Riches are not bad when used to glorify the Lord. There are so many ways to help in this world, whether it is sponsoring a child, giving to missions, or supporting the local church! We must never lose the attitude that we are all a people in need of a Savior!

James 1:9 says, “Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.” Why would God give honor to the poor and lift them up? Who are the poor? How can we have the attitude of those who are poor?

The Bible talks about the poor in many different books and chapters. Psalm 34:6 says, “In my desperation (poor) I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles.” Job says in 29:12, “For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help.” Proverbs 22:16 says, “A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty,” and in 21:13, “Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.” Perhaps the most famous verse in the Beatitudes about the poor (Matthew 5:3), “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” God honors those who are poor in spirit because their hearts and eyes are not turned to anything else. They are fixed upon the Lord only to rescue them from their desperation like Psalm 34:6 tells us. Job was a man who continuously helped the poor and when he found himself in need, his faith was increased and God heard His cry. He was a living example of Matthew 5:3. He was blessed because of his faith. He did not shut his ears to the cries of the poor like Proverbs 22:16 says, so the Lord rescued him in his time of need.

The poor is not a group of people, but instead describes someone in need, whether that be physical or spiritual. When we reach out to others in need and boast about the One who saves, He will save us in our time of need as well. He is a God who rescues.

When referring to Christians who are not pursuing growth, James 1:8 says, “Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” Your faith will not grow if you are focused on God and the world. Your loyalty will be divided and your relationship with God will suffer the cost. James goes on to say in 4:4, “You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.” Just as marriage does not work if one spouse’s attention is divided, so is a relationship with God. If you are focused on the world, you will not be able to see the work that God is doing. James 1:8 is correct. You will be unstable in your life and decisions.

So how can you keep your eyes on the Lord alone? First, you must not entertain a friendship with the world. Jesus says in John 15:19 that the world will love you if you belong to it, but you are no longer part of it because Jesus chose you to be His; therefore, the world will hate you. When you accepted His gift of salvation, you became His. You chose Him over the world. Remind yourself of that choice every single day! When you are going throughout your day, take time to stop and pray so that God will protect you from entertaining worldly thoughts.

Choose Him all day and every day! Surround yourself with people who choose Him as well and lift each other up. Life is so much better with Him.

When you ask God for wisdom, make sure it is out of your faith in Him and nothing else. James 1:6-7 says, “But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” The waves of life will come and try to derail you from your faith journey, but you must remain strong. There are many who become tossed about because they do not keep their eyes on Jesus.

Think of when Peter walked on the water. The disciples saw Jesus out on the water and were afraid, thinking He was a ghost. Yet Peter said in Matthew 14:28 after Jesus told them it was Him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” With faith, He began walking on the water toward Jesus. His eyes were focused on Him alone until He glanced down at the raging waters. All at once He began to sink and He cried out, “Save me, Lord!” in verse 30. Verse 31 says, “Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. ‘You have so little faith,’ Jesus said. ‘Why did you doubt me?’” Peter’s faith kept him above the water because He was only focused on the Savior, Jesus. The minute his eyes captured the storms, his faith diminished and he started to sink.

We are no different. When we are focused on the author and perfecter of our faith, there will not be anything else that will matter. However, when we allow the distractions of the world to divert our attention, we will become afraid like Peter and will not see the work God is doing in our lives. So reach out for Him today and keep your eyes focused on the One who saves.

We are not meant to walk through this life on our own wisdom. Our wisdom will only get us so far. We were never meant to figure everything out on our own. In fact, 1 Corinthians 1:25 says, “This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.” God’s foolishness is still wiser than the wisest plans of men! Think about that for a minute. Man has created some amazing things: spaceships, modern medicine, the internet! Yet even the genius of those things is nothing compared to God. There is one thing man cannot do: create with God’s materials. His dirt. His trees. His land. His water. What does this tell us about God? He is trustworthy because He is Creator God. The author of life. The origin of life. The giver of life.

God’s wisdom sustains us, spurs us on, and repairs us. James 1:5 says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” His wisdom sustains us because He is the generator of wisdom. Since He created the world and all things in it, He knows everything about everything. He created life so he knows what goes before us. He knows the future. We only know what is right in front of us. We can be encouraged that His wisdom will see us through and motivate us. It also repairs what was broken. Only His wisdom can restore relationships. He sees everything, remember? So He can repair and restore.

Unfortunately, we tend to go everywhere else before going to Him. We trust the advice of others more than God when they cannot possibly know all of the story or see the future. What if we went to God first? What if we trusted Him before anyone else? Imagine what He could do in your life! Trust Him with your days, your relationships, your life.