James 1:19-20 – “Gnomic”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁹My beloved brothers, know [this], let every man be swift into the hearing, slow into the speaking, slow into anger, ²⁰for the anger of man is not producing [the] righteousness of God.

As seems to be the case with James, I have to note again there are many, many great commentaries already out there which address these verses. There is so much to learn here, so many supporting verses about good listening, about being slow to speak, about the dangers of anger, and, on the other hand, verses indicating those few instances where anger may be a good thing. For the most part, what needs to be said already has been. That being the case, I intend to simply jot down a teacupful of my own personal thoughts and leave the ocean of truth as available as it is to anyone interested enough to consult any of so many good commentaries.

One thing, for whatever it’s worth, I keep noticing in James. In Koine Greek their default tense was the aorist. In English ours is the present. In other words, if we don’t particularly intend to make any point about time, past, present or future, we use the present. Like in the familiar old title, “Everybody loves Raymond,” the point isn’t that it is happening in the present or past or future. It’s just true. Grammarians refer to this as a “gnomic” use of the present. It has been my personal observation after studying in Biblical Greek for years that they used their aorist in the same way. What is unusual to me is that I think James actually uses the present as a gnomic.

You see this in my translation of his proverbial statement: “…the anger of man is not producing the righteousness of God.” I translated it in a definite present tense form, “is not producing” only because I’m being literal (to remind myself later there is a present tense going on). My point is that probably a better translation of James’ thought would be, “… for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” That is a gnomic expression – something that simply is true all the time, everywhere.

I’m belaboring this point simply to say (in case anyone else is interested in the details of the text) that I have already seen James do this a number of times in just the first 20 verses of the very first chapter. Obviously that is how Greek “worked” in his head. Of course Greek was not his native tongue. I have a suspicion Paul probably grew up bilingual, growing up in Antioch, well away from Judea proper. But I’ll bet James did not, growing up apparently right in Jerusalem. Aramaic would have been his native tongue and if he was bilingual it probably would have included their traditional Hebrew, not Greek.

Thus I offer the observation that James is probably writing Aramaic/Hebrew in Greek. In other words, not being fluent in Greek, he is actually thinking in Aramaic/Hebrew, then (perhaps somewhat clumsily) recording those thoughts in Greek. The conclusion of it all, for anyone doing careful exegesis or wanting to translate James, is not to be too emphatic about occurrences of the present.

An example of this occurred back in v16. The opening command “Be not deceived,” is a present. That being the case, someone suggested it should be translated “Stop being deceived.” I think that would be true in almost any other book of the New Testament. The Greek man shouting at his dog, “Stop barking!” used the present tense. But, once again, it has been my observation so far in this book that James is using the present as his default tense, as the tense to express gnomic truth. That being the case, even though, “Stop being deceived,” would in fact be a technically correct translation, I don’t think it to be the case in James.

This example also demonstrates why I’m making all this fuss. Once again, the first job of the serious exegete is to determine exactly, in any given text, what God says and what He does not -- to rightly divide the Word of Truth. It is a different sense whether, in v16, James is saying, “Be not deceived” (gnomic sense) or “Stop being deceived” (a command to stop an action already in progress). Someone insisting on normal, technically precise Koine Greek could certainly make a case for the latter. But, once again, having already seen James using the present way more often than normal and in what I perceive to be a gnomic sense, I rather think we should understand his meaning as the former. Interesting that is the traditional translation. Men (who were far greater scholars than I’ll ever be) also thought a gnomic sense the proper understanding of the actual text.

And, finally, back to our text, the phrase should be properly translated, “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (gnomic sense), rather than “The anger of man is not producing the righteousness of God” – something happening in the present. The latter translation leaves open the question, “Oh really? Did it used to produce the righteousness of God and right now, for some reason it is not?” or “Really? So if we work real hard, we could fix it and someday it would?” The gnomic sense leaves neither of these doors open and establishes the truth for all time, past, present, and future, that man’s anger does not (ever) produce the righteousness of God.

All of this is not to dismiss the existence of “righteous anger” which Jesus demonstrated is possible. What it does establish is that such anger, to actually be righteous, is something that simply does not originate from us. The “anger of man” is something godless and hopelessly sinister. Anger, like wealth, is something we should only use with the greatest of humility and fear of ourselves, prayerfully and very carefully keeping our gaze fixed on Jesus, lest it (so easily) devolve into “the anger of man.”

I think I still want to record some more practical thoughts on this text, so I’ll close here and address those in another post.

James 1:16-18 – “The Wall”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁶Do not be being deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷Every good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, from Whom there is no shifting or hint of change.¹⁸Purposing, He gave us birth by a word of truth, in order that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.

As I studied this, one of the first things that caught my eye was v16 “Be not deceived …” I have been aware for years of vv13-15 on the progress of sin and I’ve certainly been aware of verse 17, “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.” What I’ve never noticed before is the fact that this v16, “Be not deceived” falls in between. Any time the Lord tells us “Be not deceived” obviously He thinks we’re in danger that we will! And obviously, in this case, the deception is that we might find ourselves in vv13-15 (somewhere in the process of being tempted) and need to believe vv17,18. Again, the "Be not deceived" of v16 falls in between. If I’m not making sense, go back and read vv13-18 as a unit. I think you’ll see what I mean. I’ve never before seen the logical flow through the entire section.

In what are we in danger of being deceived? I think, from the text, the answer is that we are in danger of being deceived concerning this matter that “every good and perfect gift comes from God.” Note the “every.” Every good gift comes from God. That’s what we are in danger of forgetting.

Why would we be in danger of forgetting that? Most commentators go all the way back to v13 and say it is because we are so prone to blame God for our sins. They go on and see how in vv17,18, so much of the goodness of God is emphasized. They would suggest the flow of thought is, “Don’t be deceived into thinking God is to blame for your sins. That is not possible because He is a good God.”

All they are saying is true and that is certainly a legitimate take on the passage. However, what struck me was something more immediate in the text and something I personally found more immediately helpful.

Rather than going all the way back to v13, I would suggest we only need go as far as vv14,15, to the anatomy of sin, to the process of allurement. In those verses we were reminded that temptation is something that plays with our “wanter” as I like to call it. Temptations only “work” on us because they find in us desires. Once again, a stick on a hook won’t get a second look from a fish, but a big, juicy, wiggling worm is almost sure to land him in your frying pan. We “give in” to sin because there is something we “want” and because temptation has succeeded in convincing us we can get it.

What is going on? Temptation is convincing us there are “good and perfect gifts” to be had if we will only push God aside and take them by force. We imagine there are “good and perfect gifts” to be had and I can get them for myself. The very essence of an unregenerate life is believing I simply don’t need God “to be happy.” I can get it myself. A believer knows He’s there and that we need Him, but if there is something we “want” badly enough and we perceive He might “get in the way” we can conveniently ignore the voice of conscience, conveniently “go on” not allowing ourselves to stop and ask whether what we’re doing is truly good. Whether lost or saved, we convince ourselves we don’t need God to obtain the “good and perfect gifts” of life.

And what is James’ assertion in the middle of this kind of thinking? “Be not deceived, … every good and perfect gift is from God.” And again, note the “every.” What is he saying? I believe James would have us know that one of the greatest bulwarks to protect ourselves from temptation and sin (and the death it will bring), essentially one of the walls to stand between us and our own self-destruction, is believing that every good gift is from God. Every good gift. Sin and satan show us “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” and promise us “All this I will give you …” Like the fish, all we can see is the alluring, voluptuous worm; the hook is carefully hidden from our view.

But, before we bite, we would be protected if we would remind ourselves, “Wait a minute, good gifts come only from God. There has to be something wrong here whether I see it or not. I’d better not bite on this. I’d better step back and somehow wait for God to give me the good gift I so desire. Regardless of what I think I’m seeing, I know and am convinced that good gifts come only from God. Sin cannot possibly deliver what it seems so convincingly (and alluringly) to be promising me.”

How many families would still be together if a husband or wife would have remembered this when that special “someone” lured them away? How many young girls would have never gotten pregnant, would have never married that godless young man, if they’d remembered good gifts come only from God? How many young men would have never gotten involved with that hot (but godless) girl who ended up breaking their heart and wrecking their life? How many fathers would have kept their work and home in balance if they’d have remembered this when “big bucks” and “success” lured them into being “gone all the time?”

We can go right down the list – whatever are your own particular allurements, the things that seem to “work” most on you – and they would all lose their power if we would but keep in mind, “Wait a minute. Good gifts come only from God” – if we’d not allow ourselves to be deceived.

The goodness of God is or should be or could be a wall to stand firmly between us and the inevitable wages of sin – death. “He that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb 11:6). “A rewarder.” The Lord encouraged Abraham telling him, “I am your shield and your exceeding great reward” (Gen 15:1). One of Jesus’ responses to temptation was, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4).

For myself, I don’t (at this point) feel it helpful to be reminded of God’s goodness for the purpose of helping me not to blame Him for my sins. I do find it very helpful to see that He is the exclusive provider of every good and perfect gift, that they can and will come from nowhere else.

I could make a lot of comments particularly about vv17,18. There is obviously a literal ton of deep theology expressed in these two simple verses. But there are many, many excellent commentaries out there which have already done exactly that. So I think I won’t take the time – except to note that vv17,18 and the point of this passage reminds me why it is so important to study theology. The wall we’re talking about will only help us to the extent we actually do know God, to the extent we understand Who He is, that He is good and what that means. Doctrine and theology are not and should not be “dry” subjects. As we see in this passage, Who God is and whether I know it has everything to do with whether I can live in this world successfully or instead be deceived and endlessly self-destruct. The study of theology is only dry if we fail to connect its profound truths to the everyday lives we all live.

My wanter – my problem. My good God – my wall of deliverance. "He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also graciously give us all things” (Rom 8:32). Jesus went to the Cross to buy us out of hell. May I never lose sight of His loving gaze. May I never believe someone or something else can do me good.

“Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights.”

James 1:13-15 – “Beware the Wanter”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹³Let no one being tempted be saying that I am being tempted from God, for God [is] untemptable of evils and He himself is tempting no one; ¹⁴but each one is being tempted, being dragged away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵That lust, having conceived, is giving birth to sin and that, having matured, brings forth death.

I suppose it makes perfect sense to move from the subject of trials in general (vv1-12) to temptation to sin. Now, it is true “temptation to sin” is a trial in itself, but then any time we are under duress, it is easy to fall into all sorts of bad behavior or bad responses. So before James leaves the subject, he takes these three verses to address the subject head on.

The first (and probably most fundamental) factor to acknowledge is that God has nothing to do with our sins. Since Adam (“the woman You gave me, she …”), we have all been born incorrigible blameshifters. We’ll blame anyone and anything rather than simply own our own bad choices. Ultimately, that blameshifting game does bring us back to God. If it isn’t my fault, then ultimately it is His. “The woman You gave me, she ..” Adam was blaming Eve, but notice the jab he inserts toward God Himself.

Such thoughts are of course ludicrous since God is the very source of goodness. It is oxymoronic to in any way associate Him with evil.

Instead James makes it very clear: ^“…but each one is being tempted, being dragged away and enticed by his own lust.” “By his own lust.” The problem is always entirely to be found inside of myself. Regardless of where they come from, the only reason temptations “work” is because they appeal to me, they appeal to my “wanter.” I could put a stick on a hook and throw it in the water and the fish won’t give it a second look; but make that a juicy, wiggly night crawler and suddenly I can get a fish to bite on a sharp hook that lands him in my frying pan. It worked because it appealed to him. It “worked” because there was something inside of him that gave my allurement power.

The word translated “lusts” is actually just a word for strong desires. It can be a good thing, if what is desired is good and right. But clearly, in this context, we’re talking about evil desires, hence I’ve used the world “lusts.” The only danger of using “lusts” is that someone may think we’re only talking about sexual sin, but that is not the case. I’m using the word “lusts” with all evil desires in mind.

The other thing worth noting is that “desire” or “lust” is precisely our problem. It is the engine that drives our sin nature. For myself, it helps me to call it my “wanter.” The problem is always in what I “want.” Peter says God has given us what we need to “participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (II Peter 1:4). What is the cause of the “corruption in the world”? “Evil desires.” And what do they rob us of? The ability to “participate in the divine nature.”

It helps me to pin it down like this. Based on these kinds of verses, I learn that, if I want to stay on top of my sin nature, it is my “wanter” I have to keep an eye on. I need to ever be more aware of what I am wanting. Especially I need to be aware when the wanting gets strong and it’s moving me to behave in certain ways and make certain choices. It may be okay, but knowing my wanter is the engine that drives my sin nature means I need to be very honest at those times and be begging God’s presence and strength and protection.

I use the word “beg” because of what James tells us in v15. The wages of sin is still death. “Wanting” may not be bad, but if it is and if I let it work on me, I’m inviting my own death. Sin always brings death. Satan was a murderer from the beginning. Death may be literal and it may be eternal, but in the immediate sense it can show up as destroyed relationships, public disgrace, heartbreaking disappointment – all the different ways we “die” daily. It really, really hurts. I use the word “beg” because no matter what form death may take, I want no part of it. I want to live. That said, I need to practice a holy fear of my own wanter. It may lure me to sin, and since sin = death, I need nothing short of God’s help to save me from it, from myself.

One thing Manton pointed out, which I perhaps haven’t thought about much lately – how thankful we should be that God has actually prevented us from so much sin and death. Manton is so right. Gracious! How many times I would have gladly followed my desires right into the noose but God actually stopped me. When I was young it used to frustrate me that everything seemed to come so easily to so many people, but I kept running into walls. Yikes! Now I realize God was protecting me from myself!

Even now, I am keenly aware that if I were in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person, I am quite capable of making some very bad choices and destroying everything I ever cared about. But day after day goes by and I don’t find myself in those situations. Why not? Perhaps I make a few good choices to keep away from trouble but in the end it is God who delivers me.

Yikes! As I think back over my life, it is a miracle I didn’t murder anyone. Literally! I am a very good shot with a rifle and could turn someone’s head into a pink cloud from several hundred yards away. There have certainly been a few people who deserved it and I’d be lying if I said the thought had never crossed my mind. But God very specifically stopped me. I actually know a man who was going to murder his wife but couldn’t find a baby-sitter for the children. Seriously. Years later he came to know Christ and told me it all literally happened that way. God stopped him and saved him from his own madness.

It is a miracle I haven’t fathered illegitimate children all the way from Indiana to New Hampshire, south to Florida and in a few other countries of the world. If the Lord hadn’t frustrated my intentions, I’d have that kind of heartbreak to deal with. I know guys who do. They “succeeded.” But I did not. And now I can only thank God He saves us from our own madness so much of the time.

What an unpleasant subject!!! Sin always seems to look so delicious. But like the bait, it always hides the hook inside. Instead of landing me in a world of pleasure, it ends me up fileted and sizzling away in the devil’s frying pan.

God deliver us from our wanters. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Help me be aware of my wanter. Bring me safe to Heaven’s shore.

James 1:12 – “The Key”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of this verse:

¹²Blessed [is the] man who is enduring trial, because having been proven, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those loving Him.

This one verse is so chalk full of truth, a person could write for days on it. Several commentators that I read offered helpful observations from practically every word. A few enduring impressions on my mind: note what a paradox the first phrase is. “Blessed [is the] man who is enduring trial…” If this world were all there is, the verse would be nonsense. It would read instead, “Blessed is the man who lives free from any form of suffering.” But, as we learned in vv2-4 and were reminded by the poor man of v9, since our God is in charge, we see our lives through a very different lens. Our great Coach always keeps us in training, making us better than we are, grinding away at the faults and sins that ruin our lives, and helping us become the very people He intended us to be from the beginning. He is absolutely committed to seeing us “win.” Once we really comprehend this (and I feel I’ve only begun), then we can wholeheartedly agree that, “Blessed [is the] man who is enduring trial…”

Of course, we don’t receive the “crown” until after we’ve competed. We learned a long time ago from the Savior that you have to wear the crown of thorns first, before there is a crown of gold. That is of course obvious in the athletic world, that the pain of training and striving comes first, but applies as well to our lives as believers. The key as in this verse is to endure, to stay in the race, to keep trying until suddenly we find we’ve crossed the finish line.

I thought it interesting to note as well that, in the Great Race of faith, in a sense we are not competing against each other, but really only against ourselves. As Paul said in I Cor 9:24-27, in this world, “only one gets the prize.” But with heavenly pursuits, my gaining of a crown doesn’t mean someone else fails. Each competes on their own and each will be rewarded in accordance with their own achievements. As in the Parable of the Talents, whether the man earned five or only two, both received the same commendation from the Judge, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant …” In this world, the only way to judge if a man “did his best” is to award the winner. Our Heavenly Judge is a “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” and can thus judge everyone totally in accordance with their own abilities and accomplishments. Wouldn’t it be great if there could be an Olympic event where the winner really was the one who tried the hardest? But we humans have not such discernment. But the Lord does!

As I said earlier, there are many more helpful observations that can be drawn from this one verse. They are all available to anyone who’d care to consult any of a number of good Bible commentaries. There was one point from this verse though that struck me most deeply that can be drawn from the final phrase, “ …which the Lord has promised to those loving Him.”

“… to those loving Him.”

Note it is not simply “to those who suffer,” nor is it even “to those who endure suffering.” It is “to those loving Him.” Obviously there is not necessarily any benefit to those who simply suffer. As the old saying goes, “Trials will either make you bitter or better.” But neither does He promise anything to those who endure the suffering. From the “Blessed [is the] man who is enduring trial,” one could presume that enduring is the key. However, as Paul warned us in I Cor 13:3, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”  

The crown is not to those who suffer or even to those who endure suffering but rather to those who love Him.

As far back as Deuteronomy 6:5, what was the first and great commandment? “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart …” The promise is all things work together for good “to those who love God.” The crown of righteousness is for “them that love His appearing” (II Tim 4:8)” “But whoever loves God is known by God” (I Cor 8:3). I am amazed to find once again that it all comes down to love. I shouldn’t be. God is love.

I think it actually helpful to learn that the key is not just to endure but to be loving God while we do. That makes sense. As I look ahead, whatever the trials may be, I am not sure I will endure. I don’t know if I can do it, if I’ve got what it takes. Will I have the strength? I don’t know. I fear myself and how easily my heart will succumb to any number of temptations. But what if I just keep trying to love God? Even in that I have no confidence in myself, yet somehow it seems do-able. And somehow my heart likes the idea of making that my goal – to just keep loving God – because, if I’m loving God, I actually think I will endure. Somehow I’ll make it through if I can just keep His lovely face in view, not forget He loves me, not forget His way is best, that He will never give me more than I can bear, that all things are working together for good, that I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

¹²Blessed [is the] man who is enduring trial, because having been proven, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those loving Him.

James 1:9-11 – “Dangerous Tools”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁹And let the brother the one being in lowliness be exulting in the height of him ¹⁰but the rich in his lowliness because as a flower of [the] field he will pass away; ¹¹for the sun rises together with the scorching wind and parches the field, and its flower drops off and the beauty of its face perishes. Thus also the rich one will wither away in his going.

This has been a particularly interesting study. It has caused me to think thoughts I never thought before. I’ve certainly known this passage for years and have been very aware of its point, but I realize I have never thought deeply about it. And thinking deeply on Scripture invariably means to probe deeply into my own heart, my own thoughts, my own values, my own perceptions of reality, to hone off rough edges, to clarify what (I may have never even realized) was unclear, and to allow me (hopefully) to live more deliberately.

I think I have understood (particularly from James 1:1-8) the eternal and immediate values of hardship and troubles in our lives. When James says, “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position,” he could be speaking of that brother’s position in Christ, that, regardless of his earthly estate, he has been raised with Christ, seated with Him in the heavenlies, made a child of God, a joint-heir with Christ, … all of those wonderful things. All of that is certainly true. But, James being a very practical book, I think the emphasis is more on the matter of the present world rather than purely eternal matters. That being the case, I am inclined to see that the poor man’s “height” is actually in his deprivations. James goes on to say in 2:5, “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith …?”

It is a great advantage in this world to be poor, in whatever way. I think it was John Calvin who said something like, “It must needs be that we meet with much trouble in this world, for our hearts are full of much iniquity.” We need constantly to be in the Lord’s training program, to have troubles burning out the idols of our hearts, to help us learn to be happily dependent on God. If we’ll allow them, troubles can be great wealth to us. They can gain for us that which matters most – character. If we have the spiritual eyes to see it, we can, in our poverty, see our great wealth. “Let the poor man glory in his high position(!).” His poverty may be the very vehicle that keeps him “rich in faith.”

But what does it mean for the rich man to “glory in that he is made low”? James goes on for a sentence or two (or three) highlighting the transitoriness of wealth. “Here today, gone tomorrow.” The poor man’s poverty gains him faith, which is eternal. The rich man’s wealth is by its very nature temporary. Neither it nor anything it gains him is of any eternal value. Jesus warned against “the deceitfulness of riches.” They, like the devil himself, offer us everything our hearts could desire, but give us nothing of any lasting value. Rather they would steal our hearts away from God and be our eternal ruin.

Here’s the thought that has been rocking my world: What James is saying is that, with spiritual vision, we should see that to be wealthy is actually the lowest possible position. If we truly value spiritual things, if we value eternity, if we value character and a relationship with God, we should be terrified of wealth. Timothy was to warn rich believers “not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God …” (I Tim 6:17). This command came on the heels of Paul’s warning that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” and that some, “eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (v10). Wealth is actually not something to long after but rather to dread! Hmmmm. That is a new thought to me.

I think it worth noting that “wealth” may take the form of many, many things besides money. I would suggest it could be anything we naturally value in this world, yet which is by its nature temporary. How many young women have we all known who were very beautiful, yet that very beauty was their ruin? Youth itself is a form of wealth, which, taken for granted, is often our ruin. Physical strength and good health can be “wealth” to us. Public applause and popularity are often our ruin. Movie stars, musicians, and professional athletes are all examples of people who have “everything” – stunning beauty, boundless riches, nearly supernatural talent, worldwide fame – and yet few of them “survive.” As the old people used to say, “It takes a steady hand to carry a full cup.”

Why don’t most of us go down like them in drug and alcohol addictions? How is it that we can stay married for a lifetime and they can’t stay married for 72 days? I thought they had “it all.” ? Does anyone else see what I mean if I say they have nothing at all? If you really want to be happy, to live a full life, to stay married for a lifetime, you would say, “Whatever they have, I don’t want it!” “Whatever they have that in the ends robs them of everything that mattered, whatever that is, I don’t want it!” And what is it? Wealth. To hold wealth (in any form) turns out to be the most dangerous, most undesirable, lowest estate you could possibly possess in this life. James says, “Let the poor man glory in his high position, but let the rich man glory that he is brought low.”

I think James is telling us that, wherever we find in our lives wealth, we should “make much” in our hearts of its danger. Rather than seeing it as our “high” position, we should rather see it as the lowest of lows. Wealth is something we must carry like nitroglycerine. We must see it for the enemy it may be. We must hold it with open hands before the Lord. No matter what it is, it is temporary. It is only “good” if the Lord, not our wealth, remains on the throne of our lives. Someone said, “The trick to having riches in your house is keeping them out of your heart.” Indeed, no man can serve two masters.

I guess I’ve known that there is great value in poverty and troubles and I have known that wealth should be seen as temporary. But I don’t think I’ve ever really thought to see wealth as something dangerous – dangerous to the point where I might even prefer to avoid it(!).

Hmmmm. Now, just to keep things in balance, we need to say that wealth in itself is not a bad thing. In the parable of the talents, one man was given five and ended up with ten, while someone else had only one. Joseph was a handsome man. David was a king. Job was the “richest man in the east.” Timothy wasn’t to command those rich in this world to “dispose of their riches” but rather “to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share” (I Tim 6:18). Wealth is certainly a good thing when it’s used for good. A wealthy person has great opportunity to do good. A beautiful girl can be quite the delight to her husband. A strong man can be a big help when it’s time to move the piano. Fame can be a great platform from which to glorify the Lord. So wealth, in and  of itself, and in whatever form it comes, is not necessarily a bad thing.

Having said all of the above, I think I see now how important it is to see our wealth as a dangerous tool to be used wisely, not something to clutch and be arrogant about. It’s not a bad thing, just a dangerous thing. It’s only good if it’s used for good, but that will likely only happen if we constantly remind ourselves of its danger, and, like it said above, while it’s in our house, we “keep it out of our hearts.”

Very, very interesting. The world makes a little tiny bit better sense to me.

I love studying the Bible. “And when you know the truth, the truth shall make you free.”

James 1:6-8 – “On Point”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁶But let him be asking in faith, doubting nothing, for the one doubting is like a surge of [the] sea, driven by [the] wind and tossed; ⁷for let not that man be supposing he will receive anything from the Lord. ⁸[He is] a man double-minded [and] unstable in all the ways of him.

As I related in my last post, I think it all too easy to read these verses, throw a few stones at that “evil double-minded man” and move on, never stopping long enough to hear Nathan say, “You’re the man.” I want to park here long enough that I see where in my own life I’m either being or likely to be a doubter, a double-minded man. And once again, I think it a terrible thing to be in a place where it can be said, “Let not that man think he shall receive anything from the Lord”(!).

And so I’ve tried to study this out.

First of all, James says, “But let him be asking in faith, doubting nothing, for the one doubting is like a surge of [the] sea, driven by [the] wind and tossed…” The Greek word I translated “doubting” is diakrino. It can mean simply “to separate, to make a distinction, to examine, to scrutinize, to inquire into both sides of a question.” It only takes on its negative connotation of “doubt” when used in relation to God.

Often throughout a day, I find myself in these periods of indecision, of cognitive dissonance. “What should I do? Which way should I go?” Depending on the pressure I’m under, it can be very unpleasant. “I just don’t know. I’m not sure.” From the study I’ve done, I think in these cases we need to recognize the difference between the “doubting/double-mindedness” of James 1:6-8 and the period of indecision when a person is gathering facts.

What I’m saying is that, just as in the word diakrino itself, one can simply be “examining” or one could have moved into the negative connotation of “doubting.” I would suggest that, for us humans who always have limited information, we almost always have to have a period of indecision while we gather facts and come to a place where we can confidently make a choice and move ahead. This happens all through the Bible, such as when Jesus says, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? … Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?” (Luke 14:28-31).

In the first example, a man is deciding whether or not to build a tower. He might and he might not. The jury’s still out. In the second, a king has to make a decision. He actually has another king coming against him. He has to make a decision. Should he fight or try to negotiate? This period of indecision is not a bad thing. That is Jesus’ whole point. You need to diakrino, to “inquire into both sides of a question.” That, in itself, is not being “double-minded.” We shouldn’t beat ourselves up over our “lack of faith” when we still legitimately need to gather facts and think something through.

In fact, this is our very context. We’re at a point where we’re “lacking wisdom.” The whole reason we’re praying is because we need wisdom to know what to do. So the “doubting/double-mindedness” isn’t the problem of indecision in itself. Where the problem comes, I think, is when the indecision involves what God has clearly revealed.

James says, If we lack wisdom, we should “ask in faith.” Here is a place where we need to call faith what it is (and isn’t). Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Clearly, faith is believing what God has said. It is not imagining what God could do or imagining what He says. It is believing what He has already clearly stated in the Word. As it says of Abraham, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith, … being fully persuaded that what God had promised He was also able to perform” (Rom 4:20,21). Peter says that through God’s goodness He has given us “very great and precious promises” (II Peter 1:4).

So we can say that the double-mindedness is not the period of indecision while we really do not have the facts we need. It is, in some way, even during that period doubting whether God will keep His promises.

Here is one place where I’m thankful for the pitiful father who answered Jesus, “Lord, I do believe, help my unbelief.” I find myself often voicing those very words to the Lord. Even as I am praying, often I’m scared and I know I must trust that somehow God will in fact give me wisdom, that He will in fact work it all together for good, that He will in fact give me grace to endure it, that He will in fact insure that it will all yield “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” if I let Him “exercise me” by it. It takes faith to remember and believe that I’m in training and it’s all for good. Most of the time I don’t feel “strong in faith”. I feel like the father, “Lord, help my unbelief.” But I think it is safe to say, at least in the end, this also is not the “doubting/double-mindedness” James is warning us against.

In the end, it isn’t even a matter of our faith failures. Abraham had his Ishmael, yet still the Lord says he was “strong in faith.” The dichotomy of our sin nature guarantees that we will fail (often) in the battle of faith. Clearly, even that is not, in the end, the doubting/double-mindedness of which James speaks.

From my study, here is what I suspect: I think the problem has to arise not from the weakness of our humanness. It has to involve some way or another our “other” lover, the heart-idol of “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” It has to involve some way or another my addiction to what feels good and what looks good and what gets me applause.

God has told me that everything comes down to loving Him and loving people. Here I am in the middle of some trial. I am asking Him for wisdom. One way or another, it has to come down to the wisdom of how to keep loving Him and loving people. When asked the greatest commandment Jesus said this is it. He said in Matt 6:22, “If therefore your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light.” This “singleness” is the opposite of double-mindedness. Why wouldn’t I choose to love God and love people? I think it would be because there was some lust of my flesh, or lust of my eyes, or some love of applause that I want, at that point, more than to live by faith.

This is making sense to me. Single-mindedness is believing God’s promises and being determined to live a life of love. Double-mindedness would then be wanting to live by faith but keeping the side-door open to set this whole “love” thing aside -- just in case there’s something I want too badly. This would mean the right way is when I’m praying for wisdom, I’m not still deciding whether I’ll love but rather how. And I would suggest often the choice to love means I must be counting on some promise of God, because humanly speaking, I don’t see how this will “work.” My lusts promise me happiness and pleasure. God promises grace. With Him, love is always the answer. I just may not know what that means.

That really makes sense to me! I hope if someone is reading this, it is making sense to you. The doubter/the double-minded man isn’t just some evil man over there. He’s me when I’m forgetting it’s all about love, when, in the midst of all my troubles I start just wanting what I want and forget that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights. Nathan is right, I’m the man. But, like David, the good news, is I don’t have to be. And even better than David, I actually have the Holy Spirit of God living in me to help me be different.

I need to close this but I want to praise God that He makes us stable. Most of my life, I’ve been that unstable man, constantly making really bad choices, acting weird, doing really stupid things. In spite of every intention to the contrary, I have a very long chorus of regrets that never seems to stop playing in my head. For over 30 years, I have known the Lord and sincerely wanted to live His way, to do things right, and yet for all of that, I still end up a mess, seemingly having lived a life “like a wave of the sea, blown by the wind and tossed, unstable in all my ways.” The Lord has helped me to do a lot of things right, for which I am grateful. But there is also my sad Hall of Shame I built myself. I’ve just been unstable. Until now. In the last few years, the Lord has made this love thing so clear to me. The first and greatest command is to love. To love is to do it all. When I lack wisdom, I’m actually lacking the wisdom to love (His way). When I’m just “deciding what to do” I flounder around. But when I remember it all comes down to deciding how to love, all of a sudden I feel a sense of stability that fills my very being. It gives me that “single eye” Jesus spoke of. It allows me to see my world through His eyes. It keeps me on point. It seems so clear now. If I can just keep loving, in every situation, through every difficulty, it keeps me clear-headed. It keeps me from being driven by fear. It keeps me from manipulating. It just plain makes me stable. … And it comes straight from the hand and heart of God. I couldn’t have ever figured it out. He had to show it to me. And without His very great and precious promises, I couldn’t pull it off. I know I still have a long way to go, that I will still make too many bad choices, but praise God, I have a sense of stability in my heart today that I’ve never had before. I know exactly why and when “I’m the man” and what to do to change it.

God help us all to follow close on His heels, to, like John, keep our heads buried in His big strong chest, and may we all rise above our double-mindedness to be the people He made us to be. May we, passing through this Valley of Bacah, leave behind a place of springs, going from strength to strength, until we each appear before God in Zion. May we be no longer children, tossed to and fro, but speaking the truth in love, may we all grow up into Him who is the Head, even Christ.

Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief.

James 1:6-8 – “A Visit From Nathan”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁶But let him be asking in faith, doubting nothing, for the one doubting is like a surge of [the] sea, driven by [the] wind and tossed; ⁷for let not that man be supposing he will receive anything from the Lord. ⁸[He is] a man double-minded [and] unstable in all the ways of him.

Goodness I am sure enjoying this study. It is always such a blessing to sit and ponder long on a passage of Scripture. Here’s what struck me on this one: James is painting the picture of a man you and I do not want to be – the “double-minded” man, the doubter. As I read a number of commentaries, it seems to me that everyone gathers up their stones and lets fly at “that evil person.” “Bad!” they cry, “Look at that pitiful excuse for a Christian! That, that … doubter!”  My problem is, as I’m reading, I hear Nathan’s still, small voice saying across the ages, “You’re the man.”

I fear it is easy to read this passage and congratulate myself, “I thank Thee, Lord, that I am not as other men, … like this doubter!” James isn’t writing so we might see more clearly the sins of others. He wouldn’t even say these things unless we needed to hear it! And he wouldn’t say these things if it wasn’t an imminent danger for each of us.

Think about it: Here we are, struggling with the many hardships we face, feeling lost and confused, and we read that, if we lack wisdom, we should ask of God … and to further encourage us, he reminds us who our God is – One who gives freely and doesn’t find fault. Then into this beautiful picture, James inserts a warning – something of which to beware that lurks in the darkness of our desperately wicked, deceitful hearts.

I fear if we just cast our stones at the “evil doubter” and move on, we miss whatever it was the Lord was trying to teach us. I want to be sure I see this sin clearly in my own heart – how I do it and when … and have the wisdom to be aware when I am. Goodness, that is an awful warning, “Let not that man think he will receive anything from God.” What a tragedy – we have a God who gives freely, doesn’t find fault, who offers the promise, “If you lack wisdom, ask, and it will be given to you.” …And then to be found in a state of mind where the same God says, “Let not that man think he will receive anything from God.” Yikes!

Please be aware, even as I type, I don’t have any answers. I’m still trying to figure it out myself. You have caught me in process. Once I was studying through the book of I Corinthians and came to the verse, “And who makes you to differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? But, if you received it, why you do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (4:7). My first thought upon reading those words was, “I don’t think I do. I don’t think I ‘boast as if I didn’t receive it.’” But even as those words formed in my heart, I knew they were wrong. He wouldn’t ask it if it wasn’t a problem in my own heart. Then the Lord flooded my memory with a number of times I did exactly that, of so many times I said and did really ugly things because way down deep in my heart I really did believe I was better than everyone else. The realization was so unthinkably ugly, I felt I could die right where I sat. But as I stayed there before the Lord, I came to grips with it, saw the sin for what it was, and I hope, God help me, I repented of that awful evil. I am certainly no better than anyone else. Anything good in my life was a gift from God, just like everyone else. I am not God’s gift to humanity. I hope, having realized that, it makes me a more gentle, more understanding, patient person with others’ faults and weaknesses. As hard as that moment was, I am glad the Lord showed me that sin.

And so I sit here, wanting to say, “I don’t think I’m that doubter,” but, on the other hand, wanting to say, “Lord, show me where I am ‘the man’. No matter how ugly and painful it may be to see myself, I want to rise above it. But I won’t rise above it until I first see it clearly.

I’m going to end this blog here, study some more, and then record what I find in the next one. Nathan knows how to tell a good story. I just want to be sure, like David, I get his point.

James 1:5 – “Dependent on God”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of this verse:

⁵But if any of you is lacking wisdom, let him be asking from God, the One giving to all freely and not reproaching, and it will be given to him.

This verse could certainly stand completely on its own. On the other hand, it follows immediately upon vv.2-4, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing …” When we face all the many, many difficulties a day brings, we find ourselves not really knowing what we’ll do it, how it will all fall out, what it will mean. It’s painful. And it’s scary. From the previous verses, I try to remind myself, “I’m in training. The Lord knows all about this and it will be fine in the end. Just focus on being faithful through it and it will all work out.” Those are comforting thoughts but they leave me still asking, “Yeah, but what should I do?”

That is precisely where v5 comes in: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God …”

The “if” is almost amusing, yes? The only “if” is whether we realize we lack wisdom! And there’s nothing like hardship to make us feel deeply just how much we do in fact lack wisdom!

Here’s the thought that has stood out most to me: It’s good to be dependent on God. Human beings were never intended to be autonomous. We’re people and He’s God. He created us and we need Him. The most fulfilled human being would be someone who has learned to depend on God where we should, yes? In that sense, being brought again and again to places where I’m crying out to Him is not a bad thing – if I’m learning to depend on my God. It’s helping me be real. It’s helping me be mature and balanced. It’s helping me be the person I was created to be.

It’s a good thing. It’s good to realize I lack wisdom, then realize I can ask of God, and again and again and again see Him make good on His promise “… and it will be given him.”

It’s another twist on my “training” angle from vv. 2-4.

I found as I went in to work this week and immediately got clobbered with a number of very difficult situations, it was hard to keep in focus, “Oh, yeah, I’m in training, and that’s a good thing.” Then as I studied verse 5, it makes sense to me that part of the training is this learning to depend on God, even simply the depending itself – and that those really are good things.

I like it. I like being dependent on God. The endless troubles in a sense keep me depending on Him.

Hmmmm. So whether it’s hardships and troubles or just questions, uncertainties, confusions, fears, or whatever, “If any one lacks wisdom, let him ask of God …” At that point we’re depending on Him and … that’s a good thing.