But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. James 4:16. You see, God is not against us being successful in business. God is not against us making a profit. I was once in the home of a man who was turned off by churches. Why? Because, according to him, churches thought it was a sin for him to make money. I hope I haven’t given you that impression. God wants us to have material success, but not apart from Him, not with a goal of self-sufficiency. In Deuteronomy 8:11-20 God says He is the one who gives us power to make money, and if we forget it, watch out. The sin in verse 16 is boasting about what one is going to do or has already done. The evil is not success in business. The evil is bragging about how we will do this or how we did that. The word boast, kauchasthe, means to bring glory to yourself. The word arrogance, tais alazoneiais (plural), means the things you have accomplished in this life (remember the pride of life from 1 Jn 2:16). Boasting in our accomplishments brings glory to us instead of God and completely ignores His sovereignty and grace in our lives. Anderson, David R. (2013-07-08). Triumph Through Trials: The Epistle of James (Kindle Locations 3277-3284). Grace Theology Press. Kindle Edition.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 12:00:01 +0000