James 5:13-18 – “Thoughts”

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

¹³Is anyone among you troubled? Let him pray. Is anyone happy? Let him make music. ¹⁴Is someone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church. Let them pray over him anointing [him] with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the sick one, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he might have committed sin, it will be forgiven him. ¹⁶Therefore, confess the sin to one another, and pray over one another in order that you (pl.) may be healed. [The] energetic prayer of a righteous one is much mighty. ¹⁷Elijah was a man of like-passion to us, and he prayed to prayer that not to rain, and it did not rain upon the earth [for] three years and six months, ¹⁸and he prayed again and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its fruit.

As I said in my last post, “… so much is said in these short succinct statements that leave us with more questions than answers … which usually leads me to the suspicion we’re all missing the point … Sometimes we need to just back up and ask whether there isn’t a bigger picture going on but we’re missing it, being distracted by a lot of minor (and perhaps unimportant) issues."

The passage before us is a prime example of exactly this conundrum. I really believe the point of it all is to encourage us to be better pray-ers and it has certainly had that effect on me. Tennyson’s quote, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of,” has echoed almost constantly in my mind and moved me to much more deliberate prayer than I’ve certainly ever known.

All that said, though, I still want to record a few random observations from the details of the passage – things I learned or noticed as I was studying and would like to record so that, should I return to the passage in the future, I’ll be reminded of them.

The first thought is the implication of the statement, “Is anyone in trouble, … Is any one sick among you?” Obviously the Lord’s beloved children still face trouble and sickness. I don’t know where we get the idea that somehow, if I know the Lord, I should be “spared” from the afflictions and sorrows and diseases of the rest of the world. Martha and Mary’s words to Jesus ought to ring down through the ages, “Lord, the one You love is sick” (Jn 11:3). “The one You love.” The “faith-healers” of this world jump on v15 of our passage, “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick...,” and they would want us to believe that all sickness can be healed by faith. However, the rest of the Bible will not support such a claim. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15). Every believer, every servant of the Lord, from the greatest of prophets down to the least believing slave – all died. Not a single one of them is still with us. All faced trouble. All faced sickness. And all eventually died. The promise of grace is not that we’d be spared trouble but that the Lord would be with us through it. “When through the deep waters, I call thee to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; for I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.” Is anyone in trouble? Is anyone sick? Yeah … it’s part of life.

As far as the anointing with oil, there are those who hold that this is simply medicinal, as in the case of the Good Samaritan who went to the beaten man and “bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine” (Luke 10:34). These people claim that the Greek word translated “anoint” only refers to medicinal use and that there is another Greek word which is used to express the idea of ceremonial anointing. It is the word krio, from which we get Christ, or the Anointed One. What I  found is that there is no such distinction in the Greek words. There are actually four that get translated “anoint” or “rub” or “pour” in reference to oil and they get used interchangeably. It is true that krio is most often used in the Bible for ceremonial anointings (like anointing kings), but then we have passages like Mark 6:13, where Jesus’ disciples “drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” The Greek word is not krio but the same word used in our passage. I personally think this particular passage in James contains too little information to be the basis for dogmatic assertions about “healings” other than the obvious that people should care, people should pray, people should do what they can for their sick friends, and, in the end, it is the Lord who will or will not “raise him up.”

The third is a “for whatever it’s worth.” Notice that our passage tells us that Elijah prayed and it did not rain, then he prayed again and it did. If you go back to the story in I Kings 17:1, we are told that Elijah announced “As surely as the Lord lives, no rain or dew will fall during the next few years unless I command it.” Then in chapter 18, Elijah prays and it does rain. What I want to notice is that the Old Testament never says that the rain was stopped by a prayer from Elijah. If we had only the Old Testament, we would probably assume that the Lord had informed him that it would not rain and Elijah simply announced it to the world. But James says he prayed and it did not rain.

How does James know that, if the Old Testament doesn’t say it? Of course we could say, the Lord told him; that it was simply part of the inspiration process as James wrote. That is entirely possible. However, there are a lot of details provided by the New Testament that were never recorded in the Old, as in II Tim 3:8, where we are told that “Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses.” Long-standing Jewish tradition says that Jannes and Jambres were the two chief Egyptian magicians who withstood Moses and Aaron in Exodus 7. But the Old Testament doesn’t tell us their names.

I could give many other examples, but my “for whatever it’s worth” is simply this, that we err greatly when we maintain that the people in the Old Testament only knew what was written in the Old Testament. Modern theologians will say things like that the Jewish people couldn’t have known much about the coming Messiah because they don’t find “much” written in the Old Testament. Or they will claim the people then couldn’t have understood about Heaven and Hell like we do, or the resurrection of the dead, or a lot of other subjects, because there just doesn’t seem to be a lot written in the Old Testament. They will make claims that only in the New Testament do we really come to understand many of these teachings.

My answer to all of that is balderdash.  I would rather suggest the written word was probably the least significant form of revelation in the Old Testament. The fact is the prophets spoke much to the people and the vast majority of what they said was never recorded for us to read. The book of Isaiah covers what seems like a long 66 chapters, but it would be ludicrous to say that was all he ever said. I think it is a matter of historical fact that few people in the ancient world could read and almost all of their knowledge of God came from the oral teaching of the prophets and priests. As I read the Bible I find extensive evidence of people “knowing” truth which, as far as we know, “hadn’t been revealed” to them. I think of Job’s statement, “For I know that my Redeemer lives and that He shall stand in the latter days upon the earth, and that, after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God; I myself shall see Him with my own eyes, I and not another …” (Job 19:25-27). Job seems to have a rather informed understanding of the coming Messiah and of resurrection. How could he have known these things, if all he had was the written Scriptures? I think the obvious answer is that much more was “known” than what got written down for us to read centuries later.

I guess my bottom line is don’t buy the foolish idea that people in the Old Testament were theologically ignorant and lived on bare fragments of truth, that they had only a very vague understanding of important doctrines. The fact is they knew a lot. A very small part of what they knew was written down “for our admonition, for us, upon whom the end of the ages has come.”

Just a few thoughts I wanted to record before moving on.

James 5:13-18 – “Pray-ers”

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

¹³Is anyone among you troubled? Let him pray. Is anyone happy? Let him make music. ¹⁴Is someone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church. Let them pray over him anointing [him] with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the sick one, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he might have committed sin, it will be forgiven him. ¹⁶Therefore, confess the sin to one another, and pray over one another in order that you (pl.) may be healed. [The] energetic prayer of a righteous one is much mighty. ¹⁷Elijah was a man of like-passion to us, and he prayed to prayer that not to rain, and it did not rain upon the earth [for] three years and six months, ¹⁸and he prayed again and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its fruit.

I started out to study on through vv. 14-16, but as I studied and thought about it all, I concluded that the total thought really stretches from v13 all the way through v18, so I am looking at it all as one passage.

This is certainly interesting. Anointing with oil. The prayer of faith. Shall save the sick. Confessing sin. Being healed. There is certainly a lot going on in this passage. Robertson noted, “Much is assumed here that is not expressed.” Having studied and studied, that would be precisely my conclusion. Much is said in short succinct statements leaving the thoughtful reader with seemingly more questions than answers. “Anointing with oil” – is this simply medicinal or is it ceremonial? Some claim the Greek word used for anointing limits it to medicinal but I found their arguments less than compelling. And whatever it means, is it still applicable today? Was the statement made early enough that the miraculous gift of healing was still in effect? Is there a place for this anointing today? And it says, “the prayer of faith shall save the sick.” That seems to be a 100% promise, and yet, if it were true, there would still be 1^st century Christians running around who, every time they got sick, had prayed the “prayer of faith” and been healed.

And then there is all the confessing of sins and forgiveness. One is left wondering exactly what this means and how far it goes. Would it lead us to get together and have “sin confession” gatherings where we all spill our hearts like Catholics at their confessional? Someone may say, “Well, of course there are limits here.” But the fact is there are not. That is what I mean – so much is said in these short succinct statements that leave us with more questions than answers. In order to establish the “meaning” we end up having to go to other Bible passages to try to bring understanding and balance to the passage before us.

… which usually leads me to the suspicion we’re all missing the point. The Bible itself acknowledges it contains “many things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable do wrestle to their own destruction.” Sometimes we need to just back up and ask whether there isn’t a bigger picture going on but we’re missing it, being distracted by a lot of minor (and perhaps unimportant) issues.

When I look back at the passage in that light, it is patently obvious the big issue before us is prayer. The word “pray” or “prayer” appears at least once in every single verse. It starts out with the question, “Is anyone among you troubled?” and answers, “He should pray.” In the middle we have the familiar, “The fervent effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” And we end with the example of Elijah, a man of “like-passions,” and the power of prayer in his life. In between we have admonitions to pray for each other. Prayer, prayer, prayer.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote the famous words (ca. 1845): “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” I believe this passage would call us all to pause and consider just how much could be “wrought” if only we prayed. I’ve long loved the passage Gen 25:21: “Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.” Isn’t that awesome? It’s so simple. Here is Rebekah. She gets married and looks forward to having children and being a mother. But one year follows another and still she doesn’t get pregnant. She simply is not conceiving. All around her young girls are getting pregnant and having babies but not her. And what happens to change this situation? Her husband Isaac prays for her. That’s it. That’s all it took. He prayed for her and suddenly she has not one but two babies jostling inside of her! “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”

Our passage starts by asking the question, “Is any one troubled among you?” And what is the answer? “He should pray.” Is someone sick? What’s the answer? The elders should “pray over him.” What should we all do? Pray for each other. Pray, pray, pray. The very incense of Heaven is prayer.

I have to say, having studied out this passage, there are a lot of questions I simply can’t answer, but one thing I know for sure – the Lord wants us to pray.

One other thought – in v16, we’re told, “The fervent, effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” In Greek, the very first word of the sentence is “much.” Unlike us, they could re-arrange their sentences, and they liked to show emphasis by placing words at the beginning. Again, that is the point of the whole passage – prayer accomplishes “much.” The verse does qualify the prayer as something like “energetic” and as coming from a “righteous” person. We can all handle the “energetic” part. I am glad to know the “righteous” part is grace-righteousness, not legal. The Pharisees strived after legal righteousness and got nothing but condemnation from Jesus. Grace righteousness is first of all having the righteousness of Christ put to my account, then it becomes the righteousness that grace produces in us – the humbling, softening, ennobling effects of living all day every day with a gracious Savior and Father.

Lord help us all to be better pray-ers. May we know something of the “much” You want to accomplish!

James 5:13 – “Whatever”

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

¹³Is anyone among you troubled? Let him pray. Is anyone happy? Let him make music.

What a blessed little verse! It’s so simple, I’ve always read it too fast. Now that I finally took the time to stop and ponder on it, I’ve found a little treasure. I’ll try to record here what I mean.

First of all, and I think this observation goes clear back to Thomas Manton (ca. 1650), we can observe from this verse that in all the twists and turns of life, God is inviting us into His Presence. Here are the two extremes – troubled or happy. If I find myself afflicted in any way (sickness, bereavement, disappointment, health problems, financial problems, weariness, persecution, betrayal, overworked, etc.), what should I do? Pray.

Here’s where I miss the blessing reading too fast. Think about it again. What should I do? Pray. Notice that doesn’t just mean “Say your prayers.” It isn’t recommending some dispensing of a duty. Let the full depth of this command sink in. Pray. What does that really mean? It means to enter into the Presence of God, to go to Him, to remind ourselves again that He is our Savior, Friend, King, Healer, Master, our Rock, our strong Defender, our Hope, our Peace, our Refuge from the storm. It is to remember that our every moment is from His good, wise, and loving hand, that He rules, that He has allowed this, that He has allowed it for our good, that it will only last as long as it needs to to accomplish His good and wise intentions, that it is His strength, not mine, that matters, because His strength is made perfect in my weakness. This is our God. So if we are afflicted, what should we do? Pray. Enter into the Presence of our Almighty God and Friend.

But, what if I don’t feel troubled at all? What if I find myself today sincerely feeling happy? What if my lot today has truly fallen in pleasant places? What should I do? Make music. Sing psalms. Sing praises. Once again – enter into the Presence of God. Take my happiness to Him. Acknowledge it is from His hand. Thank Him for it.

What a wonderful God and Savior He is. Here in this one simple little verse, He acknowledges that your life has ups and downs. He acknowledges that some days you will feel happy and some days you will feel sad. He’s okay with that. Knowing Him, believing His promises, having a relationship with Him does not imply that you’ll be “happy” all day every day. Some Christian music may give you that idea, but it didn’t come from the Lord. His prescription is not that you should strive to be “happy all the day,” but rather that, whatever your lot today, you should let it take you into His Presence.

Here’s another encouraging thought – you hear people say often, “The only time we pray is when we’re in trouble. That’s a bad thing.” But the Lord says, “Is anyone among troubled? Let him pray.” There is nothing wrong at all with feeling that sense that trouble drives us to prayer. That’s one of the reasons He allows it! So don’t beat yourself up, just go with it. Are you troubled? Pray. Just pray. Be thankful for that heightened sense of the need to pray. It’s all part of His beautiful plan. Just go with it!

On the other hand, do you find yourself happy? Don’t beat yourself up with thoughts like, “The only time I praise God is when I’m happy.” So what? What did He say? “Is anyone happy? Let him make music.” Once again, don’t fight it. Go with it. Once again, it’s part of why He’s allowed it – to give you an opportunity for praise.

God knows your life will have ups and downs. He’s okay if you respond to them in kind.

Now, of course, even in affliction, I will praise Him, just as in happiness, I still pray. But, I think this verse would free us to go with whatever state we find ourselves in. If I’m in trouble and most of my prayers are crying out to Him, He’s okay with that. If I haven’t been very “praising” lately then suddenly find myself happy, it’s okay if I just rush right into praise.

He knows our frame, that we are but dust. He made us. He knows us. He fully expects us to be human. And He’s okay with it.

I have to inject – of course it is entirely possible (and too common) that, in our troubles, rather than praying, we just whine and despair. It is also entirely possible (and too common) that, in our happy times, we forget to be thankful. But I honestly don’t think the Lord gave us this verse to beat us up. He gave it to us to very lovingly call us to let every circumstance of life invite us into His Presence. We saw in verse 12 the need to live in His Presence, to let even our words be tools that keep us mindful of Him, in awe of Him. It is His Presence which ennobles us. May we let the varied circumstance of our lives – whatever my lot -- be yet another tool to keep us mindful of that Presence. Whatever, He’s our God!

What a little jewel. Thank you, Lord!

James 5:12 – “Ennobled”

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

¹²But, above all [things], my brothers, do not swear, neither by the heavens, nor the earth, nor any other oath; but let your yes [be] yes and no [be] no, that you might not fall under judgment.

This has been a really fun and very enlightening verse to study. It of course is a restatement of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:34-37). I have been very aware of both passages pretty much my entire Christian life and honestly never knew quite what to do with them. These passages draw one immediately into the debate of whether it is ever lawful for a believer to use an oath. That debate is invariably what everyone takes away from these passages and there have been mountains of ink spent on it. Now having slowed down to really study James 5:12, I think that debate misses the whole point. There are far more profound issues at stake than whether or not you can ever say, “I do solemnly swear …” Let’s see if I can relate what I think I’ve learned.

The “no swearing” crowd points to the plain words, “Do not swear,” and say, “There, end of issue.” Certainly as a Christian I don’t ever want to dismiss the very plain meaning of the Lord’s words. However, the minute you take that position, you can hardly read the rest of the Bible without having your position challenged. Consider the following discussion taken from the Expositor’s Bible Commentary:

“But further investigation does not confirm the view which is derived from a first impression as to the meaning of the words. Against it we have, first, the fact that the Mosaic Law not only allowed, but enjoined the taking of an oath in certain circumstances; and Christ would hardly have abrogated the law, …without giving some explanation of so unusual a course … In Deuteronomy we read, “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; and Him only shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by His Name” (Deuteronomy 6:13); and, “to Him shalt thou cleave, and by His Name shalt thou swear” (Deuteronomy 10:20). The Psalmist says, “The king shall rejoice in God: every one that sweareth by Him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped” (Psalms 63:11). Isaiah says, “He that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16), and still more strongly Jeremiah: “Thou shalt swear, ‘As the Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness’” (Jeremiah 4:2); and, “If they will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My Name, ‘As the Lord liveth;’ even as they taught My people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built up in the midst of My people” (Jeremiah 12:16). … An absolute prohibition of all swearing would have been so surprisingly at variance with these passages of Scripture that it is difficult to believe that it would have been made without any allusion to them.

Having studied this, there is no question in my mind that both Jesus and James are referring to the casual, flippant use of oaths throughout our daily human interactions. For God’s people going about their daily lives, our yes ought to be yes and our no no. In other words, we should simply be truthful, honest, and forthright in all we do and therefore there is no need of oaths. In fact, it is possible, I suppose, that a genuine believer could live their entire life and never ever take an oath. Biblically, an oath is a very solemn thing to be undertaken only in situations calling for such a formal expression of intent – such as in court when we are called upon to “swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God,” with our hand laying on a Bible; or when someone takes a public office or enters the military. The whole idea of those occasions is to emphasize the solemn importance of the activity we are undertaking.

And that leads me on into what I think is the far more important lesson of this verse. It is not even intended to be a debating ground about exactly which words we form on our lips in this situation or that. Here’s the deal -- in the 3^rd Commandment we have all often read, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for he who takes the name of the Lord in vain shall not be held guiltless.” What “swearing” is all about is calling ourselves into the presence of God. That Presence is what ennobles mankind. It is and should be a very sobering thing to pause and remind ourselves that we are in the presence of God, that He is hearing the words of our mouths, and that He will hold us accountable to be true to our word. Not just in the case of oaths, but this sincere awareness of His Presence raises all we do to the very highest level of integrity and grace. And having said all of that, what is the absolute worst thing that can happen to any human being? It is that he or she should forget God, that they should minimize God, that they should take God for granted. Once that is allowed, the way is wide open for us to degenerate into naked savages with bones in our noses.

That is the problem with “swearing.” Apparently the middle-eastern cultures were and are consumed with saying everything with an oath. In America, of course, people throw out “By God …!,” use His name in vain, and similarly fill their conversations with flippant, casual references to God all day every day in every possible situation. And what does that do? It deadens their very sense that He is real. And that, as related above, is one of the absolute worst possible scenarios for human beings. As He said in Deut 6:13, “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; and Him only shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by His Name.” The best thing in the world for us is to live our lives in awe of Him and of His presence.

And so I take away from this verse not some new rule for what I can or cannot say, but rather a renewed, even heightened, realization of the importance of acknowledging God in my life. I should be a totally trustworthy, truthful person (yes yes and no no) precisely because I acknowledge God. If I’m ever called upon in court or on some other solemn occasion to repeat an oath, I am perfectly free to do so … in the solemn and mindful presence of God.

I really, really like this. As usual with Bible study, everyone ends up in one ditch or the other throwing stones at each other and debating this and that. What I invariably find studying is that the Royal Highway down the middle is something far better, far more significant to the life I live amongst people and under my God.

Lord, help me to live even more aware of Your Presence everywhere I go all day every day. And may those moment by moment choices to see You raise me to a far higher integrity and grace than I have ever known. And may my awareness of Your Presence so change me that somehow it help others see You. May others know what it means to be ennobled.

James 5:10,11 – “Fishes”

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

¹⁰Brothers, take [for] an example the suffering and the patience of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹Look! We consider blessed ones who endure. You have heard of the endurance of Job and you have seen the outcome of the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and sympathetic.

Suffering and patience.

The Lord certainly knows what we need! As I have studied these two verses for the last several weeks, it seems like He has opened the very windows of Heaven to teach me and show me and help me. It has been very sweet to ponder suffering and patience and endurance, considering them alongside the “outcome” of the Lord, that is He is very compassionate and sympathetic.

As I embarked on these very verses my own workload went from impossible to utterly beyond impossible. My usual nature would have been to finally and completely freak out. But, as I was studying these verses, it was as if the Lord was giving me a calm in my soul. It was all so far beyond impossible, there was no point in freaking out, or anything else for that matter. There was only one possible hope and that was to simply trust Him who laid it all on me, to go and do what I could, and simply trust that somehow He would make the rest work out. And that is exactly what He has done. As I’ve (He’s) quieted my heart and I sincerely contented myself to simply do what I could, in one situation after another He’s blessed my little fishes and loaves and accomplished what I could not.

I know I’m famous for being brave when the battle is distant, that the second I get clobbered again, I’ll probably collapse in yet another fit of faithlessness; but I actually feel in my soul that He really has changed something inside me. “I used to hear Him with my ear; now I see Him with my eye.”

“Stars only shine in the night.” A diamond must be cut. Jewels must be polished. Arrows must be sharpened. To be reared in the lap of luxury only leaves us soft and weak. It takes a storm to prove a ship seaworthy. “The flames will not hurt thee, I only design, thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.” Job got to see “the end of the Lord” only because he endured. We only know his name because He suffered. “He who strikes us with one hand, supports us with the other.” The Lord is very compassionate – He cannot ever, ever, ever be cold-hearted or disinterested. He is very compassionate and sympathetic – that is His nature, that is who He is. He knows it better that we gain character than that we should be comfortable – and loves us enough to order our lives accordingly.

A couple of things the Lord has particularly used to help me – right at this moment when I was being crushed, my boss lent me a book that counseled people to take one thing at a time – no matter how much I think I have to do – to pick that which was most important and focus on it. Along with that, the book counseled people to keep only one project on their desk at once. Engineers’ desks are typically mountains of files and plans and projects and mine is no different. Only one project on my desk at once??? That would seem almost impossible except that I’ve actually seen it. My very first boss out of college was the very finest of engineers, a man named Dave Hawkins. When he would call me in to his office to review a project, it would seriously be the only file on his desk. It would be the only thing in the entire office “out of place.” I found that utterly amazing (and admirable) back then, but it was and always has been only that – something to be admired, but not something that I could ever be – for me it has only ever been something to be aspired. But somehow – and maybe because it was all so utterly and beyond impossible – the Lord helped me do just that, to very deliberately look at all the assignments, pick the most important, and then, with Him calming my soul, just to do what I could. I found it actually worked!

The other thing that really helped me was something I read, and I don’t know who the author was, but he said that Christians “ought to keep from restlessness.” He said we need to guard against “the restlessness that keeps going to the door, or looking out at the window, and so takes us off the duty of the hour. We cannot do our work well while we keep a restless state of mind. If we are expecting an arrival at our home, but are uncertain of the precise time, it altogether spoils our work for the day; it compels us to do nothing, if we allow ourselves to become restless … we shall undervalue our present work, and think lightly of our present responsibilities; and instead of spending our strength in service, we shall spend it in worrying and restless watchings … [we should be] actually found at work when the master returns.”

That really helps me too. I want to do good work. I don’t want to waste my energies “going to the door, and looking out the window.” I don’t want to be “restless” while I work.

Another quote I want to record is similar. This might have been from Spurgeon, but I’m not sure. It is from the Biblical Illustrator and is actually commenting back on verse 7 about the farmer, but is still helpful here: “He, indeed, knows not which field shall best prosper, or whether both shall be alike good; but he quietly, and without distraction, waits the arrival of spring, when the tender herb shall appear. And shall he be wiser in his worldly ways than you, who are the husbandmen of the Most High? In providential concerns you are perplexed, and your fears are many; but why be careful for the morrow? Of what avail is this tumult of mind, this agitation of spirit? Under tedious delays, does this rebellion of heart do other than increase your misery? Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord; observe how the husbandman waits, how deep is the conviction that impatience will never accelerate his harvest. Moreover, in your case, your hopes are delayed by this temper. Suffer not your fears-I had almost, but for pity, said, your follies--to triumph. You are no proper judge of the length of time you have waited: every minute has been to you as an hour, or as a year. You misjudge the motive of his delay; it is, that he may commend your patience, as well as reward your labours.”

All of this seems to have fallen together at the same time such that, again, I feel in my soul He really has helped me. Maybe I am actually a little more mature. Maybe I really can do a little better job just being confident in Him. My heart is deeply inclined to fear “what’s next?” but I hope whatever that is that maybe I really can do a better job of facing it calmly and trusting God through it. Richard Baxter is reported to have said from his deathbed, “Lord, when Thou wilt, what Thou wilt, how Thou wilt.”

“He must increase; I must decrease.”

James 5:9 – “Don’t Be a Grouch!”

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

⁹Brothers, don’t groan against one another, that you may not be judged. Look! The Judge has taken His stand before the doors.

Beginning in verse 7, James has called us to live in patience even as we face the hardships of life. Then he adds this admonition of verse 9 not to “groan against each other.” I have found the precise meaning of the verse a little difficult to pin down given the word which I’ve translated “groan.” The verb “stenazo” means something like “to groan, to sigh inwardly, to sigh heavily.” It expresses internal emotions, not necessarily outward expressions. So what is the Lord specifically asking us not to do here? The NIV translates it “Don’t grumble against each other.” The NASB translates it, “Do not complain against one another.” The thing I’m not sure about is that words like “grumble” and “complain” are more outward, actually verbal expressions, where “stenazo” is more inward.

From my resources, I can’t tell for sure whether the word embraces those outward expressions but I get the impression it does. He is clearly calling us not to get impatient with each other, but I guess I’m not sure if He is here specifically calling us to check the problem inwardly or outwardly. Practically speaking it probably doesn’t make any difference. If my thoughts are making me “groan” against other people, then what I express to them will be some form of irritation or grumbling, complaining, etc.

All that said, I think the overall point is obvious. Knowing we will face hardships and difficulties in life, the Lord is saying, “Don’t take it out on each other.” We could probably express the thought by ideas like, “Don’t be a grouch,” or “Don’t be impatient with each other,” or “Don’t let your own troubles make you treat others badly.”

Wow. I’ve been thinking a lot about this as I’ve been studying. Life is of course painful for all of us. Just working through a run-of-the-mill day there are many challenges and situations we find trying – from something as simple as a lid that won’t quite screw on right, to annoying noises, to other people’s driving, clear up to sickness, heavy workloads, or even outright oppression and injustice. As I mentioned above, the word isn’t primarily an outward expression, so it is certainly first of all calling us to keep watch on our hearts in all these troubles and the Lord is recognizing that one way we “fail” under trial is by (whether inwardly or outwardly) taking it out on each other. He doesn’t want us to do that.

I have found this a lot more challenging than I might have guessed. For myself, my own workload seems to only get heavier and heavier. I am fearing not being able to meet our client’s deadlines. All the while I just flat don’t feel good. I ache all over and am really tired. I don’t like winter – and we’re headed into snow and a deep freeze. I’m sure I’m no different than anyone else in all of this. Life is just plain hard. But somehow He wants me to not let my own fears or weariness degenerate into meanness or even just plain unpleasantness to others.

I guess I’ve never noticed before how easy it is to let my own troubles turn my heart against the people around me. I like expressing it as “Don’t be a grouch.” Somehow, I suspect, we all think it isn’t that bad to be a grouch – that it’s just “natural” if I’m struggling myself. But the Lord is very clearly telling us not to be grouches. That is precisely what this verse and its context is about – not letting our own troubles make us impatient with each other. Isn’t that what “being a grouch” is all about? And the Lord is calling us not to do it.

I like this. Don’t be a grouch. I’ve been trying to learn to just love God and others all day every day. But I don’t think I’ve ever let that thought include the temptation to be a grouch. It makes sense. If I’m going to be a loving person, I’ll have to do it even while I’m suffering myself. The fact that the Lord calls us to it assures us we can do it by His Spirit. He has given us the freedom to love others even as we suffer.

Don’t be a grouch!