"Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away." James 1:9-12

     James' swift change of subject can be disconcerting to his readers. In his previous paragraphs he has stated that spiritual maturity is the Christians most important pursuit in life and that believers must ask God for wisdom for daily life with an unwavering faith. So how did he get into this diatribe on the rich and the lowly?

     James uses the polar opposites of "the rich" and "the lowly" to illustrate his previous teaching. Both of these believers are to keep focused on their spiritual reality that is in Christ. J. A. Motyer phrases it this way: "To his financial adversities, the poor brother says, 'But how rich I am!' To his earthly glories, the rich brother says, 'But what a wretch I am!' Each keeps life in the perspective of eternity."¹

     To underline the need for an eternal perspective in life, James reminds people of the temporal nature of earthly riches. He uses an observation from the brevity of the Palestinian spring time. In such a semi-arid landscape a little rain turns the desert into a riotous garden of color and life. The flowers compact months of growth into days as they sop up all available moisture so that they may blossom, bloom and seed in quick succession. Then comes the kauson. This Greek word which is translated "scorching heat" above, can also be rendered "scorching wind." Whether through the heat of the unbearable sun or the heat of the wind off of the desert, the flowers can’t stand up—they wither.

     The picture which James leaves emblazoned on our minds is the undependable nature of temporal things; they will not stand up to the blazing wind or scorching heat which life generates. Instead, James calls us to invest in an eternal perspective, to place a premium on our spiritual maturity. James wants you and me to be ready assistants to God's work of developing a mature spiritual character within us. It is that God given character which will withstand the vicissitudes of life.

¹Motyer, J.A. The Message of James: The Tests of Faith. InterVaristy Press: Downer’s Grove,1985, p. 43.