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James 1:9-11
James compares the lowly/poor person with a rich person in this passage. He tells us to let the lowly person be treated equally with the rich person in letting them have their moment of glory in their exaltation to God. But the rich person should glory in his humiliation, and by the proper context of humiliation is that the rich person should remain grounded in his salvation in Christ Jesus and not allow the earthly desires of pride, arrogance, and greed to rule their lives. In verse 11, James uses an example of the sun rising as its heat withers the grass until its beautiful appearance is gone and it perishes. James 1:11d (NKJV) states, “So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.”
This is a promise that we all will perish one day.
This is a command that we should treat each other equally in the eyes of God.
James tells us in this passage that we are all equal in God’s eyes as His creation, and that as we all have different lives, we will all pass away like the flowers of the field. One rich, with all his possessions, and one poor, with nothing, will both wither away as the grass of the field. We should take notice of this comparison of the grass of the field; there is no distinction of which type of grass or where it grows (other than in a field), but that it all will wither away. One grass may be taller than another or have more beautiful flowers, but they will all wither away and perish.
We should think of the grass of the field as humanity, and we should think of the field as the earth. No matter where we live or how much money or possessions we acquire, we will all pass away one day. The rich like the poor will be laid bare before the Lord one day to be judged for the life we have lived on this earth. And as we stand before our Maker, we will all be charged, convicted, and sentenced for the sins we have committed. But if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He will stand with us and declare on our behalf that He has already paid for our sins and that through His forgiveness our charges will be dropped. It is through Jesus that we are set free from sin and its wages, which is death (Romans 6:23a, NKJV), “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). When we die, it does not matter if we were rich or poor, but if we have accepted Jesus into our hearts and declared Him our Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). If you would like to accept Jesus into your heart today, you may do so by confessing your sin to Him, asking Him with a sincere heart to forgive you and give you a new life in seeking His will for your life; and if you believe that He died for your sins, and was raised from the grave in victory over sin, death, and Satan, you are now welcomed into God’s family as a child of God; and all of heaven celebrates with you, as do we, in the name of Jesus (Luke 15:10).
Dear LORD,
Regardless of our earthly status, whether we are rich or poor, we have all sinned against You as the sinful nature is always at work trying to keep us from realizing our need for the forgiveness that only Jesus can provide. Please speak to our hearts and convict us of our sins that we would come to You with sincere hearts laid bare before You in repentance that we would be forgiven and live everlasting life in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Let us all profess it today and every day…for eternity, in Christ Jesus whom You sent to save the world from sin (John 3:16-17). In Jesus name I pray, amen.