James and Me Podcast 3
Welcome, and thank you for joining James and Me, where we take a heart-dive look into the Lord’s half-brother’s New Testament Letter with a fictional conversation that shares biblical truth with various Bible translations, word studies, and an occasional special guest commentator.
Today’s conversationalists are:
ASW—A.S.Worrell,
Professor K
JB—J. B. Phillips
Bill—William Barclay
Will—Leonard Hoffman with the Williams Translation
Vincent
AT (Robertson)
Remember to check the transcript for the complete bibliography of our conversationalists via footnotes.
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I know that much of James’ letter has seemingly random offshoots from the present emphasis, as with any conversation. Still, I like to think there was a prompt in the present dialogue that launched the scion, bringing forth another principle.
For me, this was the case when James broke away from a double-minded man when he said,
“Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away” (James 1:9-10 KJV).
I think the hidden prompt to his scion was shrouded in ASW's revealing translation,
“A double-souled man is unstable in all his ways.”[1]
That, coupled with Professor K’s statement at the beginning of our conversation when she said,
“Because of the vision James has of the priority of the work of God, the work of humanity to care for one another gains importance: in terms of mercy, humans are to mimic their God; in terms of judgment humans are to trust God. The problem comes when people switch those two categories and begin to presume themselves in God’s role.”[2]
Over my years of serving the Lord, I have learned that how we treat people is a revelation of our soul.
And maybe, just maybe, James was likewise quickened in his spirit.
Whether it was the church in about 55 AD or one reflected in the 1897 classic “In His Steps” by Charles Sheldon, genuine Christianity is witnessed in how we see and treat people.
Bottomline: the equality we all find at the foot of the cross is the equality in which we treat one another. Anything other than that needs to be adjusted.
Why?
It’s the offshoot’s principal, James wants to reveal—a principle based on poverty.
JB brought this terminology to light when he said:
“The brother who is poor may be proud because God has raised him to true riches. The rich may be proud that God has shown him his spiritual poverty.”[3]
It’s the heads and tails of the poverty coin. In the temporal world, the rich are the “heads” and the poor the “tails.” But in the eternal world, the poverty coin is same-sided, only looked at differently from personal experience.
Will put the poverty coin in a pocket when he added,
Let the poor brother of lowly station rejoice in his exalted station as a Christian, and the rich brother rejoice in his being on a level with the poor, because the rich will fade away like the flower of the grass.[4]
That level is the aforementioned foot of the cross. Yes, it could also be where we are seated with Christ in heavenly places, but we are discussing how to treat people here and now in our earthly pilgrimage.
It was then that Bill articulated how each experience needed to be processed,
“The brother who is nobody in the eyes of the world must take pride in the way that the hard experiences of life, rightly accepted, raise him to new heights of character. The brother who was wealthy must take pride in the way in which life brings him low, for he will last no longer than a wild flower blooms.”[5]
The group noticed I had veered my view from their eyes and up to the ceiling in contemplation.
“RJP, what are you thinking,” I was asked.
“I am trying to reconcile some wording,” I replied.
“James tells us to ‘rejoice’ (Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted)
“JB says ‘may be proud’ (The brother who is poor may be proud because God has raised him to true riches
“Bill instructs to ‘take pride’ (The brother who is nobody in the eyes of the world must take pride)
“Will echoes James with ‘rejoice’ (Let the poor brother of lowly station rejoice in his exalted station as a Christian)
“How exactly am I supposed to do this? How exactly do I rejoice, may be proud, take pride, and rejoice?”
Vincent interjected quickly to answer my query,
“[Rejoice] is ‘not strong enough. It is, rather, boast. [That is] Rev., glory. Compare Rom 5:3; Phi 3:3.”[6]
Okay…I get it. My confusion came from interpreting “pride” and “rejoice” with me as the focal point rather than the Lord. Vincent’s last word of his explanation, “glory,” turned on the light and brought Jeremiah’s words to my spirit,
“Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:23-24 KJV).
I thought I saw a slight twinkle of approval in James’ eye, but I couldn’t be sure.
Whether I did or not was immaterial as James dropped a new beatitude on us all, but before I get to it, I have to look in the mirror; as AT summed up our conversation,
“The Cross of Christ lifts up the poor and brings down the high. It is the great leveler of men.”[7]
Mirror Time
As I look into the mirror, just how am I treating people? And what does that reveal about me?
And remember, it’s not vain to always look in the mirror when looking to see Jesus in you.
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[1] A.S. Worrell, The Worrell New Testament (Springfield, Missouri: Gospel Publishing House, 1980). Page 340.
[2] Jason Maston and Benjamin E. Reynolds. Anthropology and New Testament Theology (Kindle Locations 4816-4819). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.
[3] J. B Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English (New York: Inspirational Press, 1995). Page 478.
[4] Hoffman, Leonard R.. The Time Line New Testament Bible (2022) (Leather Look with Gold Foil Imprint and Gold Foil Pages) (Ribbon Marker) (Words of Christ in Red) (Full Color ... for Biblical History Lovers and Students (p. 244). Destiny Image, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
[5] William Barclay, The New Testament A New Translation, 2 vols. (Great Britain: Collins, 1968). Page 197.
[6] Marvin Vincent, Vincent’s Word Studies (Public Domain, 1886).
[7] A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Public Domain, 1930).