The kingdom of God is an upsidown kingdom and it is nessesary for us as Christians to re-orrientate our thinking for a worldy view to a kingdom view. In the worlds eyes the way to obtain joy is by avoiding trials of anykind by planning for the future, by having a secure job, by having plenty of money in the bank etc. But right in the first line of the letter of James we read "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,..." What a complete reversal of the worldly view of things. To illustrate this new way of thinking James presents an interesting illustration in vs 9-11. The example of a trial James presents is that of poverty and riches both of which have a tendancy to cause us to act in a worldy manner instead of in a kingdomly manner. Through poverty we can be tempted to consider ourselves unworthy and have low self esteem that is a form of pride producing a self focused attitude. Alterativly through riches we can be tempted to consider oursleves more highly than we ought having high self esteem that again is pride producing a self focused attitude. This self focused attitude is a worldy attitude and not a kingdom attitude of humility, of other focusness. James has the solution to these trials through which we obtain joy and it is not the worldy solution of the poor ignoring their poverty and thinking more highly of themselves than they ought as this is the trap of the rich. Likewise for the rich they are not to ignore their riches and think of themselves more lowely than they ought as this is the trap of the poor. Instead James points us to Jesus and to the poor he says boast in the riches you have in Christ and to the rich he says boast in the humility that you have in Christ. Both the poor and the rich need to understand the fleeting nature of riches and to both cease in their pursuit of it. Instead we are to realise that the status of both rich and poor is a trial through which our faith is tested and perfected to completion.
What we need is the wisdom of God and a steadfast focus on Jesus in whom we ground our worth and there for come to a realisation of how highly or how lowly we find ourselves. Every good and perfect gift is from heaven and each brings with it trials. Those who are rich (and for the majority in the west that means us!) have the gift of resources that we need God's wisdom to use for his kingdom. Those who are poor can more easily understand their need of God and this too is a gift to be used with wisdom.
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