Christian Humility Series

A young girl from a very wealthy family decided to write a story

about poor people for her assignment in school. Her story began

like this: "Once upon a time there was a poor family. The father

was poor, the mother was poor, the children were poor, the butler

was poor, the chauffeur was poor, the maid was poor, and the

gardener was poor. Everybody was poor." The little girls concept

of poverty was obviously colored by her own environment. This is

true for all of us, however, even though it may not be as conspicuous

as it was in her case.

Poverty and prosperity are relative terms, and who is rich and

who is poor is often very hard to define. People with very little

income in our society can own almost everything that people with

large incomes own. They usually pay more for it in the long run,

but they can have it if they wish. I remember the surprise I got one

day when I took a bag of groceries up some dilapidated steps and

pounded on a poor excuse for a door. It almost came off when I did.

I was on an errand of mercy to give these poor people a gift of

necessities from the church. When I stepped into the house I saw the

children dirty and ragged watching a large color television. This

was back in the 70's when most of the church members who were

giving the food did not yet own a colored set.

In our society you don't have to wait until you can afford it. You

can have luxuries today if you are willing to sacrifice necessities. We

can't knock it, for such freedom of choice is a freedom most of the

world does not have. Most would have little if they had to wait until

they could afford it. Richard Armor gives us a humorous insight

into this reality.

The bride white of hair, is stooped over her cane,

Her faltering footsteps need guiding,

While down the church aisle, with a wan, toothless smile,

The groom in a wheelchair comes riding,

And who is this elderly couple, you ask?

You'll find when you've closely explored it,

That here is that rare, most conservative pair,

Who waited till they could afford it.

Such people are more than rare, for they are extinct in our

society, for we live where even the poor are rich with luxuries that

millions never possess in other parts of the world. This means that

most Christians today need to listen to James when he gives advice

to the rich, as well as his advice to the poor. American Christians

are both relatively poor, and relatively rich, and so they can be

defeated by the trials that come with either poverty or prosperity.

in our previous message we focused our attention on the trial of

poverty and lowliness, and we discovered that we can conquer the

tendency toward depression and feeling like a worthless nobody

through an honest realization of our Christian dignity. We have a

right to be proud as children of God, and we have in Christ that

which makes us the richest people on earth. We can say with the

poet,

Lord of the poor, when earth you trod,

The lot you chose was hard and poor;

You taught us hardness to endure,

And so to gain through hurt and pain

The wealth that lasts for evermore.

A proper sense of our Christian dignity will make us rich, and

victorious over the trials that come from lacking the best this world

has to offer.

Now we want to focus our attention on verse 10-11 where the

opposite trial is dealt with, and that is the trial of prosperity. The

treatment of this problem calls for an understanding of Christian

humility. Christian dignity and humility must be combined in that

Christian who hopes to beat both battles-the battle of fearful

depression, and the battle of false pride.

James in verse 10 says the rich Christian is to rejoice in that he is

made low, or to rejoice in his humiliation. This is in contrast to the

poor Christian rejoicing in his exaltation. What does it mean that

the rich Christian has been made low in Christ, when the poor have

been lifted? Certainly the rich are exalted also when they became

children of God. James is not denying this. He is giving advice on

how to gain victory over trials, and the trial of the rich will be the

tendency to put their trust in, and find their prestige in their

material possessions.

James is telling rich Christians they are to gain the victory over

this danger by recognizing that in Christ they have been made equal

with the brother of low degree. They have actually lost something