James 1:9-10 (ESV)

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.

These two verses are directed at two different groups of people within the church. As I read the passage above it occurs to me that we have often gotten this backward. It seems to me that the lowly are told to exalt in their lowliness, and the rich in their exaltation. What if the lowly learned to exalt in the reality that they are children of the King? What if the rich learned to exalt in their lowliness?

The word “boast” means to walk with one’s head held high. You’ve seen people with low self-esteem. They tend to walk with their head down. They don’t look anyone in the eye. Those with a strong opinion of self tend to walk into a room with confidence. That often is determined by wealth rather than intelligence, gifting, or faith. The well-dressed walk into church confidently. They poorly dressed walk in tentatively. The wealthy are known by everyone and deferred to. The poor are looked at with suspicion. This is a reality of our world that is backward to God’s economy.

The answer in many health and wealth churches has been to tell the poor that they too can be wealthy. That is not God’s answer. God says that we need to recognize the inherent value of those who are poor. “Let the lowly brother ‘hold his head up high’ in his exaltation.” Do we understand that the believer who is the poorest of the poor is created in the image of God, bought by the blood of Christ, and treated as a child of the King with welcome access to his throne room? Let the rich “hold his head up high” because of his humiliation. Do we understand that God does not accept the wealthy and powerful because they are wealthy and powerful? They come to God with nothing to offer but their brokenness, just like their poor brother.

What a difference it would make in church and society if Christians learned this truth. One of the most difficult aspects of church life is the challenge of building unity between people who are different. It appears that things were no different in James’ day. The poor envied the wealthy. The wealthy and powerful looked down on the poor. We would like to think that is not true of us, yet it is.

This has affected mission work over the years. Wealthy Europeans and Americans walked into a new culture with their heads held high, believing that they were somehow superior to those they were trying to help. This is evident even in the language we use. Natives were called savages. We were called educated, or cultured, or civilized. That very arrogance hindered the gospel and caused us to export a culture more than a contextualized gospel. We do the same thing today. We tend to view unbelievers as uncouth and unacceptable. We want them to clean up and look like us. What a difference it would make if we carried the gospel in humility instead of pride.

Father, forgive me for the times I have judged people based on their clothing, their education, or their apparent wealth or lack of wealth. Forgive me for the times I have felt superior to someone because I didn’t understand their world. May I learn to walk in humility among those less fortunate than I, and may I learn to walk with my head held high in the presence of those of wealth and power. May I find my significance in you, Father, not in my position in life, nor in the social status of those I call acquaintances. Both my significance and my humiliation are found in Christ. That changes everything. What a difference it would make in our churches if we really lived that truth.