James's second illustration introduces another major theme to be developed later in the epistle: one's relationship with material wealth. There are indications in the New Testament that humble circumstances were a common trial among Christians. In the first place, the explicit appeal to the poor in Christ's preaching likely attracted numerous poor people among the earliest converts (Lk 4:18). In addition, some Christians became poor because of deliberate persecution against them. Some may have been living in a self-imposed poverty for ethical reasons, as they refused to participate in corrupt economic enterprises. We have examples in Acts 16:19 and 19:23-29 of the gospel's economic effects, forcing a separation of Christians from immoral financial pursuits and resulting in a backlash of persecution. Christians suffered economically for their faith.
James evidently understood this trial to be a common circumstance among his readers. If this is a deliberate point of application by James, and not just another topic in a loose train of thought, then the spiritual dynamics of trials should be evident in this illustration. Exposition should bring out how this trial would become a testing to develop perseverance toward maturity.
To understand this, it is valuable first to consider how, even today, money is the context for some of our most common and spiritually significant trials. Because of money we are beset with fears--troubling anxieties about how financial needs will be met. Because of money we are attacked with a sense of guilt and failure. We struggle to make ends meet, and we feel internal accusations about inability to manage finances and about mistakes we must have made in financial choices. Because of money we fall into crippling self-pity, chronic complaining and envy of others who can buy and do things which we lack. These can produce a terrible bitterness of spirit that makes a desert of our personal fellowship with God. Because of money we become trapped in attitudes of greed, practices of injustice and a lifestyle of materialism. No wonder Scripture says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil!
Look still more deeply into the matter. Why does money evoke such destructive reactions in us? Don't we fall into these reactions especially because of the particular functions money plays in our lives? First, money functions as verification of personal worth. When we are conscious of lacking wealth (which is relative--lacking in comparison to anyone who has more, or in comparison to anything we cannot afford), the implication is that we are worth less than others and that we are less worthy for God to bless. On the other hand, if we are conscious of having wealth (again, relative to anyone else or relative to anything we want), the prideful comparisons come easily to us. The implication is that we are more successful because we are worth more. Second, money functions as security. That is why a loss of job or a financial setback is so frightening. It is also why some choices can be so attractive when they are financially helpful even though they will harm our well-being. A friend admitted to me that he hates going to work because of the evil atmosphere there, but that he took the job because of the financial security it offered. Third, money functions as power or advantage over other people. It gives power for people to perform injustices against others; when we lack wealth compared to others, we feel our vulnerability.
The effect of these dynamics is to focus our lives on the pursuit of money. Financial gain becomes the increasingly decisive factor in our attention, choices and lifestyle. It becomes urgent to recognize, therefore, that these three functions of money are worldly functions--violations of the ways of Christ's kingdom. Jesus called his followers to choose between treasures on earth and treasures in heaven, for he said, "You cannot serve both God and Money" (Mt 6:19-24). He warned that material wealth is dangerous to spiritual health; in fact, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Mt 19:24). James's purpose here is to encourage Christians in material hardship not to become caught in the pursuit of wealth. What he has to say will be in radical opposition to the three worldly functions of money.
1. Against the notion that money means personal worth. First, James addresses 1:9 specifically to the brother as a reminder that the Christian reader is already specially accepted and loved. Second, the brother is reminded of a high position that has nothing to do with amount of money. (Nor does the low position have anything to do with the rich person's level of wealth.) Third, the brother is to take pride (NIV) or to "glory" (NASB) in that high position. Therefore, whatever is worth such glorying must also have nothing to do with money. Fourth, the high position is assumed as a fact, not proposed as a conditional possibility. It must refer to a high position that occurs by virtue of being a brother: being one for whom Christ died and being claimed by God as his own. Contrary to the claim that our humble circumstances mean inferior worth, it turns out that we are declared worthy of extravagant blessing by God! We can tell ourselves now with certainty that our money does not determine our personal worth and that the first worldly function of money is a lie.
The trial of financial hardship presents the opportunity for a testing, or an exercising, of faith. Christians will engage in the testing by exulting in what they believe: the more important reality of their high position with God. This very act is a rejection of the culture's materialistic values and therefore a growth toward maturity. It will lead the Christian to renounce any anxious outlook about the future, any self-accusing attitude in financial struggles, and any complaining or jealous view toward others' comparative wealth. Instead of adopting anxiety, guilt, complaint or jealousy, the Christian will consider it pure joy . . . because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance . . . so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Further, this proper pride in their high position means that Christians' treatment of others will no longer be affected by others' wealth. Christians will repent of favoritism, an application that James will explore in 2:1-13. Thus the test of living in humble circumstances will develop perseverance to continue a life of faith, manifest in both outlook and behavior.
2. Against the notion that money means security. James reminds his readers that the rich will fade away as easily and certainly as a wild flower. The one who is rich is not called a "brother," for James is not addressing rich Christians. My appendix on the identity of the rich will provide a larger treatment of the conclusion that the rich man is a non-Christian. For now it may be noted that this exegetical decision will affect interpretation of James's other references to the rich in chapters 2 and 5. Most scholars (Adamson, Mayor, Moo and Ropes, among others) have treated plousios (rich) as governed by adelphos (brother) from 1:9 and therefore as referring to a Christian brother who is rich. At first glance, this does seem to be the most natural reading of the syntax, with the verb kauchaomai from 1:9 also understood in 1:10. In that case, James would be telling the rich brother to take pride in his humiliation in Christ. A major problem with this view is James's complete silence about meaning humiliation "in Christ." James was familiar with Jeremiah 9:24, and he could have elaborated on kauchaomai as Paul did in 1 Corinthians 1:31. Instead, his elaboration dwells entirely on the destruction of the rich person. The extent to which James emphasizes this in 1:10-11 indicates that he is speaking of rich people who will likely continue in their materialism only to find themselves brought low in the end. In general, though, he understands his Christian readers to be poor people suffering in the trial of deprivation. This fits perfectly with the line of thought already traced from 1:2, as encouragement for the poor to consider their trial pure joy because they know their perseverance in faith will leave them not lacking anything, whereas the path of materialism will lead to destruction. The syntax easily allows for this understanding, with plousios and adelphos standing as contrasting subjects of the one verb kauchaomai.
The later passages in James 2 and 5 confirm this view. For example, 5:1-6 will thoroughly condemn rich people, without acknowledging any saving faith in them or hope for them. Though that passage is written in the second person, it makes sense as a rhetorical addressing of persons not actually receiving the letter, written for the benefit of the ones who are reading it. The actual readers will then be addressed in 5:7, "Be patient, then, brothers . . ." Laws (1980:62-64) and Davids (1982:76-77) should be read as examples of this view that the one who is rich in 1:10 is a non-Christian.
Therefore James is encouraging Christians in humble circumstances not to be deceived by the apparent security of the rich. Three factors would especially encourage them in this regard. First, the rich person has only a low position to look forward to; his wealth cannot shield him from being humbled. Second, the rich person will pass away like a wild flower. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount would have been known to the believers; James's own familiarity with the Sermon is certainly evident in his letter. Jesus used similar imagery to illustrate the care with which the Father clothes his own children, who are of greater value than the wild flowers which are tomorrow "thrown into the fire" (Mt 6:25-34). James's imagery is a reminder of this promise of God's providence. Third, the rich person will pass away even while he goes about his business. This not only parallels Jesus' own emphasis in the parable of the rich fool (Lk 12:20), it also emphasizes the vulnerability of the rich at the very time they are trying to make their wealth secure. Again we can now speak with certainty: the second worldly function of money is a lie; money does not mean security.
This is a huge and liberating truth for Christians who are pressed on all sides by a materialistic society. Armed with this truth, Christians who want seriously to uproot the sin of materialism from their hearts can embark on deliberate disciplines to confront money's lie about security. Two such disciplines will be emphasized by James later in his letter. One is giving. The Christian who has repudiated money as security will be free to give to others in need, as James will require in 2:14-17. John Wesley was conscious of the value of giving for his own spiritual health when he said, "When I have any money I get rid of it as quickly as possible, lest it find a way into my heart." Though he later formulated his more comprehensive dictum "Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can," Wesley's earlier sentiment was at least founded on an honest insight that material wealth had power to put down deep roots into his heart with a false security. The other discipline is prayer, especially with thanksgiving. The Christian who has repudiated money as security will be free to refrain from grumbling and instead look patiently to God in prayer for all needs, as James will teach in 5:7-18. Together the disciplines of generous giving and thankful prayer can help today's church stand against the lie that money is security.
