Priorities

 As introductions go, you couldn’t get much briefer than greetings. That was it. Straight, to the point, without any other well-wishes or encouragements, as most all other epistles seem to have toward the tail end. Even Jude’s ending seemed downright verbose compared to James’s introduction. James wanted to dispense with the niceties as quickly as possible to get to the essential core of why he was penning this letter.

It is undeniable that James has one priority: the spiritual well-being of the brethren. What does that have to do with us, you might ask? He wrote it to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. Given that we were grafted into the family of God, you may receive this epistle as though written to you, but if this does not suffice, we return to the foundational tenet that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, including the epistle of James.

James 1:2-3, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

Right out of the box, it has nothing to do with prosperity or living your best life but about trials and how you should react toward them, knowing that the testing of your faith produces something demonstrably tangible in you that cannot be purchased with silver or gold.

It is a shocker that so few study the book of James nowadays or that it has been so belittled throughout the church age by those who would rather not contend with hard truths penned by one of Christ’s half-brothers.

If the testing of your faith produces patience in you, something arguably noble and virtuous, the question that we must wrestle with before going any further is, who allows the testing of our faith?

Yes, I know Jesus wouldn’t beat up His bride on their wedding night; I got that part. The guys in skinny jeans and hipster glasses made sure to let us all know that right before they went into rehab, divorced their wives for their best friend Rod, or renounced their faith and went the way of the world. I’ve heard a few other ones just as myopic and infantile, but honest question: given what we know the testing of our faith produces, who allows the trials?

Would the devil pursue something, knowing it would benefit you spiritually in the end? By the same token, God is not sadistic, wherein He puts us on the hamster wheel and then shoots spit wads at us until we fall off. The answer to the question is not as simple as it first seemed, is it?

I’ve thought about it for longer than you might believe, and the only viable answer is that the devil can’t help himself. Just in case there’s that one chance in a million that he can cause you to stumble, he attacks incessantly, and those who have learned to stand and resist him reap the fruit of patience that the testing produces.

That said, God allows our faith to be tested because He knows the pressure of trials produces good fruit in us. They allow our spiritual man to grow and mature and learn to walk in faith and obedience. Even though James insists we should count it all joy when we fall into various trials if all they ever did were leave us bruised and bloodied, disillusioned and shipwrecked, it would be kind of hard to put on a happy face, wouldn’t it?

Often, we bemoan, grumble, complain, and murmur about the trials God allows in our lives that would produce wondrous things in us if we were to count them as joy and persevere through them.

We pray for God to remove the trial before the trial has a chance to bear fruit, rejoicing that the trial has ceased, not realizing we just shortchanged ourselves. Am I saying we shouldn’t pray for healing? No, praying for healing is Biblical. However, if we pray and healing is not forthcoming, we must accept that God has a bigger plan.

There is also the promise that all things work together for good to those who love God, including the trials, the hardships, the seasons in the valley, as well as the seasons on the mountaintop. All things means all things, not just some things or most things. Trials are not pointless. The testing of your faith isn’t pointless. They produce patience, and patience is one of those underappreciated virtues that pays dividends throughout one’s life. Just like love, joy, or peace, patience is something you can’t buy. You can buy counterfeits to love, which is physical lust; you can purchase counterfeits to joy, which is chemically altering your mood; you can buy counterfeits to peace, which is insulating yourself from the world outside, but the real things can’t be had in exchange for legal tender.

Sometimes, all it takes is patience and the ability to keep silent for your enemy to fall into the snare he’s prepared for you. You don’t have to scream or shout or guffaw; all you have to do is be still and watch it all unfold before your eyes in such a way that you will know with certainty no amount of screaming or gnashing of teeth would have come close to a resolution.

In reading this epistle, I get the feeling James is writing more out of personal experience than anything. I could only imagine what he had to endure once he acknowledged the Lordship of Christ and became a fearless proclaimer of His sovereignty. It’s one thing to become a believer and have a church body or a community of Christians you can fellowship and grow with; it’s another when everyone you’ve ever known, save a handful of souls, is out for blood, and looking to do you harm because of it.

The only way to understand the bravery of men such as James, Jude, Paul, Peter, Matthew, Luke, John, and any other who put quill to parchment is to contextualize the time they lived in and what the climate was like for believers. These men did not write from the comfort of their dens overlooking the sea while the breeze blew through the open windows, causing the white drapes to dance lazily.

They wrote their letters while in prison or being hunted, grateful for friends and wary of enemies, knowing that their end would likely be violent and would come about for Christ’s sake.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.