Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. 6 But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways. 9 The brother in lowly circumstances should take pride in his high standing, 10 and the rich one in his lowliness, for he will pass away “like the flower of the field.” 11 For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
The attitude of joy during trials was introduced by Jesus in the beatitudes, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:10).” James is encouraging the community to endure trials that test their faith with patience focusing on the ultimate goal of the coming of the Lord (Js. 5:7). If they can endure the tests it is an occasion for joy. They should strive for perfection in their faith and pray for wisdom without doubting that God will grant their wish. A person who is of two minds, or a person who challenges God will receive nothing from God. People in the Christian community who doubt can cause problems in a community and can be compared to the wicked; "But the wicked are like the tossing sea which cannot be still, Its waters cast up mire and mud (Is. 57:20)." In the OT, the poor and the oppressed were of special concern to God and those who neglected or oppressed the poor were condemned by God. The rich man who does not believe can boast among the worldly of his wealth and status. The poor man who believes can boast about his high standing in the eyes of God. Based on the Christian view on man’s ultimate end, the rich man who ignores or oppresses the poor can only attain salvation if he realizes that he is poor in the eyes of God.
Almighty God, Grant us the wisdom to turn to you in love and the understanding to discern what is good and pleasing to you. Be mindful of our weakness and shower us with your blessing that we may be able to bear the trials we encounter on our pilgrimage. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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