I realized something yesterday, people always say that the book of James is harsh, and yet, when I was reading it, it didn’t seem that way to me. He had some pretty stern rebukes, yes, but they do not seem to be spoken out of judgement; instead, they are spoken out of kindness. James is warning them, unless they understand the implications of their actions, unless they fully understand the danger, they have no chance of escape. He seems to speak on the basic sins of mankind: the common pitfalls, and their dangers.
He forbids them from being swayed by wealth and prominence, the sirens that have led so many to corruption and ultimate destruction.
He forbids them from thinking that trouble comes because God is angry.
He forbids them from doing nothing.
He urges them to be men (in the generic sense) of integrity, undivided in purpose and person.
He forbids arrogance.
He forbids greed.
This all comes across as very negative, but it isn’t.
He warns them about being swayed by wealth, showing favoritism, the very people they groveled to please were the ones that walked across their backs. They ignored the people around them that needed their service, missing their calling and their opportunity God’s love in the process.
He warns them about thinking that trouble is a sign of judgement, because it simply isn’t true. He reminds them of the prophets. Were they not men of God? Were they not hunted to the ends of the earth? Did they not live in holes? And yet, was not the world condemned as unworthy of them? It was condemned. They stand justified. And so, you to, can have hope, because the trouble you walk through is not necessarily a sign of your condemnation. It isn’t a sign of your sainthood, either, do not fall into that trap. Still, draw hope from this: troubles are not a sign of condemnation. Relax, and breath in God’s grace. He sent a way for you to be redeemed, would he drop you now? This is a foolish thought. On the opposite of this coin, however, be wary of blaming your mistakes on God. He is infinitely patient, but it isn’t good in the long run if you cannot stand and accept your mistakes. From a human side of things, it’s irresponsible and shows an incredible lack of maturity. From a more spiritual side of things, it is a grave thing indeed: you have accused God of being double-natured. On one hand you agree that he wishes you to be righteous, and yet on the other you say that he wishes you to sin? It cannot be both. He cannot wish both. He can work with anything, yes, but he does not wish anyone to sin. In all this, we have come back around to the beginning, you are to live righteously and stand firm in that. You are to be steadfast.
The third thing he tells them is that they are not to do nothing. It doesn’t do any good to wish someone happiness, health, food, shelter. It’s like ‘liking’ a cause on Facebook, it only makes you feel better about yourself. It doesn’t actually do any good. (Unless there’s some company donating for a number of ‘likes’, that doesn’t happen enough to legitimize it as an argument.) If you don’t donate money, food, clothing, etc. It doesn’t help, any. Not that gifts of food helped anyone, it only provides for a day, a month, a year. Honestly, it’s only a stopgap measure, providing for now or a week from now, a month from now, whenever the money/food/clothing gets to them. They need more than that, I assure you. They are human. They need to able to work for what they eat, what they wear. Even if it isn’t a lot, it means something to have earned it yourself. You value what you have earned more than what you are given. I have heard tales of places where there is so much donated clothing that it is used to patch the holes in the roads. I repeat myself: this is not what they need.
He urges them to be people of integrity. What you say you believe, live in it, walk in it. Walk in the light: do not curse or slander, because this is how you will be measured. As you bless God and reflect him, you should be a conduit of love for the people around you. This should be evident in the way that you treat them, and especially in what you say. Watch what you say, and as you can tell, this is more than just being honest. This is about showing love. Your will needs to be tuned, such that it rings in harmony with God’s will, so that people who ‘listen’ to your life hear more than sour notes. Again, God shows grace, but it is ultimately better if you follow God.
This involves an act of humility and falls into the next topic: God has numbered your days. He knows every one of them. You don’t know what is coming next, you know relatively nothing. You can be an expert in your field, and yet you are a complete n00b next to God. This is why you follow him: he can steer you out of hazards you don’t even know are there, He can steer you towards people that desperately need his love, and quite frankly, he is holy. Your will is still in the process of being renewed, until it is completely renewed, you cannot steer yourself perfectly. When you are completely renewed, what you wish is also God’s wish, you are harmonized. A smaller version of the same thing. Unfortunately, that will not happen in this lifetime. Perfection does not come with time, it comes with the end of it.
Greed is forbidden, don’t hoard your wealth, this is not the reason that you have it. I’m not quite sure how the bit about hoarded wages in the day of slaughter bit applies to today, but I suspect that there are people to whom this applies. Starting at the top, dear CEO who doesn’t pay your employees a livable wage, you stand condemned. Dear restaurant goers, the people who wait on you depend on your tips. There are many articles on this already. There are arguments about how tips should be given. Honestly, while these do matter, these don’t really matter. Actually tip. Understand that you are paying them for their service, many of them live on it. If you do not, you do stand condemned (though this is different in other countries, where you DO NOT TIP. Tipping is actually rude in many places of the world, especially Asian countries). Eventually, we get to factories: those workers need to be paid a living wage. This doesn’t have to be ‘Americanized’ in any way shape or form, but they have to be able to feed their families, regardless of country or continent. Many of these people live and work in horrid conditions: for this, we all stand condemned, the buyer and the seller alike.
In the end, he tells them to pray, reminding them of Elijah. Though, surprisingly, he doesn’t bring up the time that fire fell from heaven, instead, he brings up the time of drought. Elijah brought drought on the people of Israel, to turn them from their evil ways. We are told to do the same, not necessarily pray for drought, but turn our brothers and sisters back from death. Though this all seems rather negative, it is done out of love. We are the ones he is turning from death, like the people he wrote to then.
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