Wednesday 7 Mar 2018

March 7: James 1:9-11

Key Verse: James 1:10
But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.

Devotion:
If ever anyone thought that there may be a socialist statement in the bible, then this would be it. But what people read into God’s Word instead of trying to understand it merely leads them into difficult situations where they find themselves doubting things where there should be no doubt. This is not about lifting the poor up to the same level as the rich, this is about attitude. Socialism forces similarities upon people whereas Christianity changes the attitude so people from all walks of life do not recognise themselves as being better than others; different, yes, better, no.

We need to pay the same attention to those who have little in life to those who are rich and in important positions within their society. We have to look at things from God’s perspective where He does not have any regard for the person, but total regard for the soul. It is not what we get up to on earth that is going to count for anything in heaven, but what we get up to in our hearts and minds which is going to count with God. We need to have the right attitude and act on that attitude rather than simply saying this is what we should be doing!

We should be willing to give our earthly riches up in preference to Christ’s way. If we put such high esteem towards those earthly riches, then we should be willing to let them be taken away from us so we can learn more about Christ and Christianity. Our life on earth is so short when compared with the life of our souls – so why do we put so much into living here on earth and not caring about the afterlife? We certainly should be caring about how we are going to spend our eternity, be it in heaven or in hell! Don’t let the fickle things in life rule your world when you can do so much more with Christ in your life!

Points to Ponder:
How much do you keep up with fashion?

How much do you keep up with God’s Word?