James 1:9-11 English Standard Version (ESV) 9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass[a] he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. James, of course, does not shut the doors of the kingdom on all rich people. But, like Jesus, he recognizes the insidious temptations that come with wealth. Rich or poor, we need to keep our eyes on the real prize. The problem with money is that it tends to deceive us into focusing on the temporal instead of the eternal (2 Cor. 4:18). No question, the acquisition of wealth, higher education, or social influence tends to separate people from the less fortunate. But the early church kept the two classes together by turning worldly values upside down. The one who takes the lowest place, the role of humility, is the one who can glory in exaltation. As long as there are hungry ones in Gods world to be fed, naked ones to be clothed, souls perishing for the bread and water of salvation, every unnecessary indulgence, every overplus of capital, pleads for the poor and the naked.-Ellen G. White, Welfare Ministry, p. 269.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 20:36:35 +0000