While going through trials the question we should ask is not "why me?" or "Lord get me out of this! but rather "Lord I need wisdom. Please use this trial to increase my wisdom and understanding of you, your people, and life." God allows trials in our lives to develop faith for without faith it is impossible to please God. Walking through trials in life the way Jesus would brings us to a deeper understanding of God and His Word. This develops faith, it engrains wisdom into the pattern of our life.
The concepts of perserverence, doubting, tossing and double-minded are linked together in this passage. Doubting must not be seen as merely an intellectual process. It means to make up ones mind between alternatives but having an allegiance to neither. Close biblical concepts are lukewarm (Rev), Mat 6:24, Putting your hand to the plow and turning back. To be more clear, doubting is an action word in this passage. To a Greek doubt is an intelectual process. To a Hebrew doubt is the lack of action. The two are vastly different. James is an action book. He wants to show his faith by what he does, not by what he says. Be doers of the Word. A person who doubts, to James, is a person who knows what he should do and doesn't do it. He asks, "God what should I do?" But if the answer is too hard he doesn't do it God's way. This is the person who is unstable in all that he does. A person who commits to something and you never know if he will keep his word. "Oh, something came up." "I'm sorry I couldn't make it but there were problems." "Oops, I forgot." Cries of the double-minded, those lacking perseverence to follow through and do the hard stuff. Such a person will never get anything from God, they lack the quality of character they need to commit to the change God wants to bring. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
Tossing- a four dimensional instability
Paul is an example of a person who applied wisdom in his life. As such
he was content in all situations.
Verses 9 to 11 are an illustration of Wisdom as applied to a life situation
that was apparently within the Churches that James was writing. There were
rich and poor Christians and the rich were using there wealth as a lever
for power. Perhaps the Jewish concept of linking wealth with prosperity
was also present.
The poor were really rich. They had a lowliness in spirit that is necessary to grow in Christ. Lk 6:20, Mat 5:3. In the sense that the poor were more dependent on God they were privaleged.
The rich were really poor. Rich Christians are urged to cultivate the poverty of Spirit that they experienced when they first came to Christ. As such richness has its own problems. Mk 10:17-25 It robs one of helpless dependence on God. Mat 13:22; Mat 6:24; Rev 3:17; 1Tim 6:17
The mayfly has a lifespan of one day. How silly it would be for it to spend the whole day storing up treasures.
The way of wisdom is to see that all situations in life have advantages and disadvantages. James used the example of rich\poor. He could have easily used other examples such as single\married; slave\free; young\old. Wisdom attempts to be thankful for where you are at and see a path to Christlikeness.
Are you the type of person who commits and never carries through? Do you see that as spiritually dangerous? What is James' response to such an attitude? Why do we not take God's way out of situations? What is your situation in life and how can you see it as a trial, a chance to grow in faith? What is James' idea of doubt? Why can't this passage refer only to intellectual doubt? Do we all doubt intellectually? Are intellectual doubt and faith compatible? Is the presence of intellectual doubt evidence that faith is working? What is more evidence of lack of faith...having intellectual doubt or not doing what God wants you to do?
