A Word from James: Boasting

by Marilynn Chadwick

You boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:16 NIV) 

Boasting. It's practically a national pastime. American as apple pie. Our athletes swagger. Our politicians crow. Bumper stickers flaunt our favorite teams, super kids, or alma maters.

Think about it. Our talents, treasures, and triumphs win us bragging rights. At times, we all like to toot our own horn. I grew up in the deep South where we had an expression for the ultimate boast: "No brag. Just fact." What’s so wrong with a little dose of healthy pride?

The dictionary defines boast this way: “To talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities." James stops us dead in our self-congratulatory tracks. He challenges not just our pride of accomplishment, but also our presumptuous plans:

“Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money…You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]. But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong. So, any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:13-17 AMPC).

James' words make me squirm. I'm one who is more comfortable with all my plans firmly in place. But he warns me not to boast of my future plans.

Boasting is unbecoming for the believer in Jesus. It’s also unrealistic. For as James reminds us, we're not in control of our lives. The New Testament word for boast means "head held high." It also indicates "praise or glory." So if we boast about ourselves, we glorify ourselves.

The Hebrew word for boast, halal, also means "to glorify." From halal, we get Hallelujah, which means "to glorify Yahweh." We can boast about ourselves, or we can boast about God. Paul writes, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31).

When tempted to boast, James encourages us to humble ourselves instead. “Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10). We're to trust God to lift us up in his timing. God loves to honor His children, but in a manner that's for our good and his glory.

Today, I think I'll still set some goals and plan ahead. But first, I intend to seek God's will, cover my plans in prayer, and hold them all with a loose grip.

Lord, thank you for reminding me of my humanity. You are God. I am not. Most trouble comes when I get that wrong. If I could gain complete control of my world for just one minute, I would stand aghast at my weakness. No wonder Eve hid herself in shame after she tried to become "like God." I am not equipped to run your world, or even my own little world. I can rest in the reminder of your sovereign control over every aspect of my life. And I humble myself before you, knowing that you will lift me up in your way and in your time as I trust in you.

A Word from James: Humility

by Marilynn Chadwick

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. (James 3:13 NIV)

Humility. It’s the virtue that gets lost in the speed of our fast-track living. From the Greek word, prautes, humility means "gentleness, not born in weakness, but in power."

I’ve heard humility often referred to as “bridled power.” James tells us a little secret. True humility comes from wisdom. But here’s the catch. It’s only the heavenly version of wisdom which produces humility. Counterfeit, or earthly wisdom, is simply the veneer over hidden pride.

James exposes the dangerous underbelly of earthly wisdom:

“For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices” (James 3:16 AMPC).

Envy, rivalry, selfish ambition. All symptoms of earthly wisdom. But James digs deeper. Such wisdom is not only unspiritual, he warns, it's actually from the devil. This kind of wisdom trips us up in our faith walk and gives birth to all kinds of evil.

The devil has no new tricks. He dangled the very same earthly wisdom to tempt Eve. When she saw "...the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…” (Genesis 3:6 AMPC). No wonder the devil still tempts us with the same lure. It works!

It's important we learn to seek "heavenly" wisdom, while also asking the Holy Spirit to make us alert to the dangers of earthly wisdom.

Lord, help us resist the temptations of earthly wisdom. False fruit may look appealing but tempts us to become filled with pride and self-righteousness. Give us your kind of true wisdom. It always comes through humility—bridled power—and prompts us to look up and lean only on you.

A Word from James: Righteous

by Marilynn Chadwick

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? (James 2:25 NIV)

Rahab the prostitute becomes Rahab the righteous. How can this be? A common harlot turned hero in Joshua's battle at Jericho. A most unlikely name in Matthew’s genealogy of the Messiah (Matthew 1:5). James delights in the upside-down-world of grace where the currency is not self-righteousness, but a simple, childlike faith. He confronts us with God's audacious grace.

How did Rahab make the quantum leap from prostitute to believer? From dead to living faith. James links Rahab's actions—the protection of Joshua and the spies—to her heart of faith. Somehow, she had come to believe in the Lord. "I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us," she confided to the spies as she hid them from their pursuers (Joshua 2:8).

God considered Rahab righteous because of her faith. Her faith gave birth to action. James makes the link between living faith and obedience:

“The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse” (James 2:25-26 MSG).

For her giant faith, Rahab is counted among the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, often called the "Hall of Fame of Faith." “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient” (Hebrews 11:31).

The word translated “disobedient,” apeitheo, comes from two words which mean “without” and “faith.” Again, we see the connection between living faith and action. A disobedient heart is an unbelieving heart. Once again, God's Word drives this point home.

Do you struggle with an unbelieving heart? Reflect on areas where you may need to wrestle your doubts and fears to the ground and step out in living faith.

Lord, I want a bold and daring faith like Rahab. I marvel at the courage of a common harlot who became a hero of faith. She pleased you greatly with her living faith. Show me how to risk all, to resist fear, and to step out in action in response to your Word. Today. Now.