Rich and poor

 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. – James 1.9-11

 

Let the lowly brother, the poorer brother, the one who doesn’t have much, glory in his exaltation and let the rich man glory in his humiliation.

 

What? That sounds kind of backwards, doesn’t it? How are we supposed to do that?

 

We do that at the long-term prospect of our current situation. What does that mean?

 

The poor can rejoice in that one day they will be lifted up and exalted in God’s sight. It is humbling to not have much – but that is all going to be changed one day when God lifts up the poor.

 

The poor look forward to the day when they will be exalted. The rich must realise that all they have acquired will be gone one day. One day we all we made level so there is no need to envy the rich or look down on the poor.

 

What a wonderful day it will be when power and class and wealth and fortunes and possessions and everything means nothing. One day we will all be in the same position before God.

So let’s be sure that we get our focus there instead of here.