If you have a toddler in your life, you are very familiar with the word “mine.” I hear the word often from my two-year-old niece, Lucy. In fact, I was recently Facetiming her when she said, “Don’t look at my house! It’s my house!” My sister and I had a chuckle after she corrected Lucy. What is ironic about Lucy claiming the house as hers is that her parents own her house. She has done nothing to purchase or own the house. The truth is, even as adults, many of us behave like toddlers, claiming our earthly possessions and finances as ours when they are gifts from God the Father.
James 1 calls readers to choose humility instead of pride. In this passage of Scripture, James wrote, “Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field” (verses 9-10). In other words, there is no place for boasting when it comes to our possessions on Earth that God has given us, because they will one day fade away. Several verses further, James continued, “Don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow” (verses 16-17). Make no mistake, “whatever is good and perfect” is a gift straight from God. That means anything good in our lives is a gift from God. We cannot boast about it. We cannot think too highly of ourselves and God's good gifts to us. After all, they are a reflection of our Creator, who gives good gifts to His people.
The truth from James 1 calls for humility. After all, we have done nothing to earn or deserve God’s gifts to us. They are given to us out of His goodness and kindness. Instead of boasting or bragging about the gifts He has given us, the proper response is to show gratitude to Him for all He has done.
One way to practice humility and remind ourselves that everything we have is a gift from God is to practice gratitude. Spend the next few minutes praying. Let this prayer focus on gratitude. As you pray, thank God for all of the gifts He has given you. Name these gifts one by one and thank Him for each one of these gifts. Thank Him for how He has taken care of you. Praise God for each one of the gifts that God has given you.
1This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad.
Greetings!
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
