The Low Made High and the Rich Made Low

Observe. James addresses two kinds of people in his churches. The believer in humble circumstances is told to take pride in his high position. The rich believer is told to take pride in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower, scorched by the sun, its beauty destroyed even as he goes about his business. The word for boasting is the same in both cases. Both are told to glory in something, and both are told to glory in the thing their situation would least suggest.

Interpret. James is not romanticizing poverty or cursing wealth. He is relocating identity. The poor believer's true standing is high, because he belongs to Christ, and no bank balance can touch that. The rich believer's true situation is fragile, because money will not outlast the summer grass, and he needs to know it before the heat comes. Each is being told where to look for his worth.

Apply. Most readers sit somewhere between the two, and both instructions apply. Where have you let circumstances tell you what you are worth? Where do you need the reminder that what you have will not last, so that you can hold it loosely? What would it look like this week to boast, quietly, in your position in Christ rather than in anything you own or lack?