James 1:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.

NIV: But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.

NASB: but the rich person is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.

CSB: but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field.

NLT: And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.

KJV: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

NKJV: but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

Verses 9 through 11 offer an important teaching on the question of Christian perspective. Earlier passages in James challenged Christians to tally their hardships as joy, and to give God complete trust when seeking wisdom. In verse 9, James wrote that those who truly trust the Father can boast about their exalted position, even if they're completely destitute in this life. The lowliest Christian believer is eternal royalty with endless riches through their faith in Jesus.

Here, James explains that for the rich Christian, their faith in God is demonstrated by the mirror-image of that view. The rich Christian should take pride in their "humiliation." In other words, those with great wealth in this life should not see their money as evidence that they are significant in any way. They are significant, as Christians, only because they are children of God with a place in eternity. Whatever earthly wealth they have now is nearly meaningless because of how briefly it lasts.

Notice that James does not condemn the wealth of rich Christians. However, he will have harsh words later in this letter for those who abuse their wealth and power. Instead, in this verse and the next, he compares life on this side of eternity to a wild flower, beautiful but alarmingly temporary. The ability of a rich believer to see her own wealth as a fleeting thing, and to boast instead about her place in eternity, is evidence that she is trusting God. Conversely, Christians who presume that worldly wealth somehow makes them more important than the poor are failing to trust God's perspective for how the universe really operates.

James 1:2–18 begins with a challenging command for Christians. We are to classify hard things in their lives as ''joyful,'' because those ordeals help us develop a deeper trust in God. Christians who trust God also seek wisdom from Him—and not from ungodly sources. We continue to trust Him through difficult experiences, in part, to receive the crown of life promised to those who don't stop. We don't blame Him for our desire to sin, but we do credit Him for every good thing in our lives.

How important is it for Christians to trust God? It's so important, James writes, that we should call our worst moments joyful things, because trials help us trust God more. People who trust God ask Him for wisdom—and then take what He gives. People who trust God make a bigger deal about their rewards in the next life than their wealth in this one. People who trust God don't blame Him for their desire to sin; they give Him credit for all that is good in their lives. They look into His Word, and they act on what they see there.

This first chapter in the book of James sets the course for the rest of his letter to Christians worldwide. God wants us to trust Him more, and more deeply, as we learn more of Him. This is so important to God that He calls on us to find joy, even in hard times, because hardship helps us trust God more. Those who really trust God will ask Him for wisdom, will be excited about their status in eternity, will recognize Him as the source of all good in their lives, and will work to act on what they find in His Word.

The book of James is about specifically understanding what saving faith looks like. How does faith in Christ reveal itself in a believer's life? What choices does real trust in God lead us to make? Those are the questions James answers. Most scholars believe the writer was Jesus' half-brother, a son born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus' birth. James may not have come to believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection. Eventually, though, he became one of the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem. This is possibly the earliest-written of all the New Testament books, around AD 40–50. James addresses his letter to Jewish Christians scattered around the known world.