You are a Christian businessperson.  Another company offers to buy your company for a larger sum than you could have imagined.  You know this company often cuts costs by paying low wages to its workers.  What things do you factor into your decision?

You are a church eldership.  The wealthiest couple in your congregation, who bankroll a significant percentage of the ministry work at your church, have indicated that they will discontinue their giving if you take the church in a certain direction.  However, you as an eldership feel very strongly that this is the direction to take.   What are some of the elements of your dilemma?

You are a church benevolence committee.  Two people come asking for financial help.  Both are equally needy at present.  One got into this situation because of a natural disaster that destroyed all he had; the other got into this situation through drinking, doing drugs, and being sexually promiscuous.  Which are you more inclined to help?  How will you decide how to dispense your small benevolence budget?

You are a church finance ministry.  A couple has come to you wanting seed money for a ministry to homeless people.  They have a great program planned, but no financial arrangements made.  They want only a one-time donation, which you can afford in your budget.  The rest will come by faith and through prayer, they say.  What are some of the things you should think about?

James 1:1-21: Two Introductions

The contemporary reader of the first chapter of James probably sees it as a ‘mishmash‘ of unrelated wise sayings, much like we would find in most of the book of Proverbs.  Some have tried to group these sayings under a common category.  For example, Pheme Perkins categorizes all of Chapter 1 as “Learning Perfection.”  Luke T. Johnson is content to define several small sayings in this chapter, as do many other scholars.

Robert Wall,[i] however, however, sees the first 21 verses of this chapter as an introduction to the book as a whole, divided into two parts (verses 1-11 and 12-21).  The key to the entire book, he says, is 1:19: “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.”  He sees the rest of the book as an elaboration on these three themes:

An Essay on the Wisdom of “Quick To Hear” (1:22-2:26)

An Essay on the Wisdom of “Slow To Speak” (3:1-18)

An Essay on the Wisdom of “Slow to Anger” (4:1-5:6)

He then sees a two-part conclusion in 5:7-20, very similar to the two-part introduction.

First Introduction (1:1-11).  This introduction speaks to people for whom the bad times in life present problems in dealing with God.  It speaks to those who have a daily struggle with hardship.  In such times, it is easy to begin to question God’s goodness and wisdom, so James begins by reinforcing God’s wisdom and the importance of faith (1:5-8).  It serves to reassure such readers that God is ‘big enough’ to handle whatever might come up in their life.

Verses 9-11 talk not so much about poverty and riches, but pride and humility.  The word ‘rich’ certainly can indicate material wealth, and such wealth is alluded to later in the book.  But the opposite of ‘rich’ here is ‘lowly’ or ‘humble’.  Here, James talks about the pride that often comes with riches, but indicates that “only the humble can boast.”

Second Introduction (1:12-21).  James’s second introduction begins to set the stage for the teaching that is to follow.  Again, he begins by talking about trial and temptation—apparently a major issue for at least some of James’s hearers (1:12-15).  He then speaks again of God’s goodness and the goodness of things that come from Him (1:17-18).  Finally, James gives the summary of what his book is all about—his statement of the case (1:19-21).

James 1:22-2:26: Quick To Hear

James introduces this section by encouraging his hearers to “be doers of the word, and merely hearers who deceive themselves” (1:22).  It would seem, then, that this section would focus not on hearing, but on doing.  But for James, to hear is more than to discern sounds and words.  Quick hearing, rather, is the ability to apply the truths one has heard.  The art of hearing, then, requires a level of maturity that favors listening over speaking, but which also favors doing over talking about it.

According to Robert Wall, “more specifically, the wisdom of quick hearing means to obey the levitical laws pertaining to the merciful treatment of the neighbor (vv. 26-27).  This portion of the Torah is defined as the wise thing to do in order to address a situation in which the material needs of the poorest and most marginal members of the faith community are being neglected.”[ii] 

Indeed, in chapter 2, this advice is applied to issues of wealth and poverty in the church (2:1-7).  Distinctions such as the ones described here were commonly found in both the ancient court of law as well as in administrative proceedings of almost every religion found in the ancient empire.  James has seen it in the church as well, and he sees it as a violation of Torah.  It 2will backfire in the end, because as James says that God has chosen the materially poor to be spiritually rich (2:5).

James concludes this section by reminding communities of faith that wise Christian communities are wise to hear and act upon what they find in scripture.  “According to the Torah, faith in God is embodied by works of mercy: true religion is an ethical religion, not confessional orthodoxy (2:14-26).  Thus, to profess devotion to God without a complement of merciful works is simply foolish (2:20) since such religion is worthless for either heralding or entering the age to come (2:17, 36).”[iii]

James 3:1-18:  Slow To Speak

James’s essay on the wisdom of “slow to speak” is the well-known passage on ‘taming the tongue’.  Robert Wall comments that this passage is “especially suited for the ‘wilderness’ (3:11-12, where the spiritual journey is most unstable (vv. 3-6a), when the guidance of “wise and understanding” teachers is most critical, but when harsh things are more easily said.”[iv]

The importance of being slow to speak means that few will want to become teachers (3:1), because the teaching environment is especially prone to misuse when verbal communication is not “kept in check with a bridle” (3:2).  The tongue is used for both good and bad (3:9-10), and it is imperative that Christians keep their use of speech on the former.

James uses God’s created order (3:11-12) to illustrate his point.  Since every person is created and loved by God, and profane speech that slanders His creation is a violation of God’s sovereignty over all the earth.  It substitutes earthly wisdom for heavenly wisdom and places humankind on the throne in place of God, and then boasts about being so wise (3:13-14).

When we substitute human wisdom in the place of heavenly wisdom, the result is chaos (3:16), which is the opposite of our Creator’s intentions for the world.  “Demonizing speech destroys human relationships and prevents the sort of spiritual nurture that empowers the community’s journey through present trials toward the future promise of a new order.”[v]

But those who use the wisdom of God, which involves “pure and merciful” speech (v. 17), the result is the blessing of peace.  For those who desire to teach, it is the only acceptable wisdom.

James 4:1-5:6:  Slow To Anger

James’s essay on the wisdom of ‘slow to anger’ begins by defining the source of anger:  “These conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from?  Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?” (4:1).  With that, he begins to describe anger as the result of covetousness or jealousy.  He goes to quite an extreme, comparing jealousy to murder (4:2a).  This reminds the reader of Cain, whose jealousy led him to murder his brother.  Then James goes to describe the cause of such jealousy, selfish inner desires that impede not only our human relationships, but also our relationship with God (4:2c-3).

Giving in to such desires is tantamount to choosing friendship with the world and enmity with God (4:4).  James compares this to adultery, evoking images of several of the prophets of the Old Testament who make the same comparison.  For Luke T. Johnson,[vi] this verse provides the key for the entire book of James.  Certainly it has connection with all three major essays, and defines the root of the problem when it comes to anger.

James’s solution to this problem of allegiance is humility and submission to God (4:6-10).  This paragraph is bracketed by two allusions to the Proverbs of the Old Testament (Jas. 4:6=Prov. 3:34; Jas. 4:10 .Prov. 3:35).  This involves a time of worship to God through lament and penitence rather than the more common worship mood of joy and laughter (4:7-9).

James 4:11-5:6 begins to discuss the implications of ‘slowing anger’ in one’s life.  He uses three illustrations to explain why Proverbs 3:34 (quoted above in Jas. 4:6) is correct when it says that God opposes the proud.  He tells of three typical prideful people: one who slanders one’s neighbor (4:11-12), a merchant whose priorities place pursuit of wealth above God’s will (4:13-17), and a farmer who exploits the poor to benefit himself (5:1-6).  “These exemplars of arrogance move the reader progressively to the moment of divine judgment (5:4-5) in order to clarify the ultimate consequences of human anger that springs from an idolatry of wealth; these are illustrations of how wealth is accumulated and the devastating toll it takes on both spiritual (4:13-17) and material (5:1-6) life.”[vii]

Rather than spending a lot of time attacking the external symptoms of anger and conflict, James goes straight to the deeper spiritual problem that underlies it—in a way that should convict every reader.

James 5:7-10:  Two Conclusions

As James concludes his book, he returns to many of the themes and key words that he used in the two introductory paragraphs.  As with his two introductions, James seems to relate these exhortations to the immediate situation of at least some of his readers.  The topic returns to suffering, the testing of faith, and, implicitly, persecution.

First Conclusion (5:7-12).  James begins by mentioning his main motivation in writing this book: the coming of the Lord is near (5:7-9).  Like many New Testament writers, James anticipated that Jesus would return during his lifetime.  As a result of this feeling of urgency, James explicitly states what he has already implied  in several places: that his readers should patiently endure the testing of their faith (5:10-11), mentioning the prophets (presumably those of the Old Testament period) and Job as examples.

Although most of the biblical book of Job show him as a rather impatient man, the firon.st two chapters show him to be patient, and many legends had arisen in Judaism that emphasized this trait.  Interestingly, the friends of Job in the biblical account do much of what James speaks against in verse 9.

James ends his first conclusion by repeating a teaching of Jesus regarding oaths (Matt. 5:33-37; James 5:12)—especially pertinent in the face of persecution and other testing of faith.

Second Conclusion (5:13-20).  In this conclusion, the focus turns from endurance to prayer—particularly prayer during suffering and illness.  Elijah is raised up as an example in this discussion (5:17-18).  Vigilance in prayer “insure[s] participation in the coming triumph of God’s reign.”[viii]

“The final verses (5:19-20) form a commission that calls the readers to a special mission for those foolish believers who have been deceived by falsehood and have departed from the ‘word of truth’ that defines the way of wisdom.  Their spiritual healing will result in salvation rather than condemnation at the end of the age.  To be the church is to be wise when tested in knowing that the present trial of faith determines the future entrance in the age to come.”