James 1:12 (ESV)

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Reading through James 1, between verses 12 and 13 my version of the Bible switches from the word “trials” to the word “temptation.” What is interesting is that it is the same Greek word all the way through. It is the same word found in the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” The word can mean trials and difficulties, or enticement to evil, but always with an edge to it. Testing and proving are involved. We have an enemy who is trying to prove that our faith is not genuine. The believer, by God’s power, stands up under the test.

This passage in James goes on to say that God cannot be tested in this way. He cannot be tested by evil; neither does he test us with evil. What is interesting is that he does not go on to say that this testing comes from the Enemy. It is true that Satan tests God-followers. Clearly Satan tested Job. Yet James’ focus is on the inner man. The testing comes from within. “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (James 1:14 ESV).

The real test comes from our own natural inclination toward evil. Of course, when James talks about evil, he is not talking about card playing, dancing, drinking, or going to movies. He is not talking about whether you go into a bar to eat a burger, or whether you wear a tie to church on Sunday. He is talking about envy, divisiveness, anger, and injustice.

This reveals two problems that are at the heart of genuine holiness in the life of the believer. First, we want to blame testing and temptation on outside sources. It is not the man’s fault for lusting. It is the woman’s fault for wearing revealing clothing. It is not my fault for wanting more and more stuff, it is the fault of subversive and manipulative advertising. It is not my fault for being overweight while much of the world starves. I was just born into a wealthier part of the world. We blame outside sources. In doing so, we fail to take responsibility for our own complicity.

Second, we fail to understand what real evil is. We define evil in terms that make us feel good about ourselves, while ignoring the real issues. God is concerned about issues of justice. I am concerned about how people see me. God is concerned about issues of the heart. I am concerned about issues of control and manipulation. God is concerned about faith. I am concerned about keeping the rules. My understanding of evil does not align with God’s heart at all, but it does make it easy to feel good about myself while judging those who are different from me. James says that the real issue is our own heart.

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial” (James 1:12). God has a solution. James will go on to talk about the “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25). We’ll get to that passage eventually, as we work our way through James. But for today, suffice it to say that we need to stop blaming others, and take full responsibility for our own culpability in evil. When we recognize where it starts, we can begin to apply God’s solution. As long as we blame circumstances, Satan, and others for our sin we will never find freedom.

The word translated “remains steadfast” in James 1:12 means, “to stay under.” In this case, it is the idea of continually standing firm in Christ when the brokenness within is inclined to lead us toward selfishness. The word translated “blessed” can mean enviable. So, in the context of James 1, we might say, “Enviable is the individual who stands firm in Christ instead of envying others.” Where is your focus? Are your eyes fixed on the stuff you want, or on the blessing you already possess in Christ? We need to constantly remind ourselves of what we already possess in Christ.