⁹But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; ¹⁰and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. ¹¹For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

James continues to lay out the major themes of the book, beginning with trials and now with comments about wealth and prosperity. Actually, these are not separate themes, for verse 12 speaks again of trials. Indeed, do not many of our trails have to do with our possessions and position in society? In these areas, life throws, it seems, random reversals that create difficulties at many levels. Yet, as we shall see, in the Christian community (James uses the term “brother”) there is a leveling of status and a treatment of one another that raises up the humble and humbles the proud.

Those who by the world’s standards occupy “humble circumstances” are of lower social status or of the servile class. The word “humble” can also carry the notion of being unpretentious, willingly taking a lesser role in relationships and life in general. Of course, these are not black-and-white designations, but James uses polar opposites to communicate a principle. Dramatically, he uses an imperative: those of lower social status should glory when they are elevated. The word “glory” is the same word used many times in the NT and is often translated as “to boast.” In Christ, we will see shortly, the lower class should make a big deal of the high status they gain in Christ.

The passage focuses more on the “rich man” who normally would glory in his high status and enjoy the envy of those of lesser rank. The Christian community is a great leveler of people. The boasting of the rich should be redirected, not at their glorious, worldly status but on their being brought down to the same level as others. This is counterintuitive to the unspiritual mind, especially in the Roman world, which exalts personal glory as the highest value. Any tour of the present-day ruins of the ancient Roman world reveals an abundance of statues still standing to this day in honor of the benefactors of respective public works or benevolence. The sculptures are like the inscribed bricks in the walls or walkways of present-day building projects, commemorating the wealthy donors. The larger the donation, the larger the inscribed brick. In Roman cities, statues were more common than modern streetlights today. Such was the desire for glory.

No man finds satisfaction in his limited reach for glory. What is left for those whose memory will in time be just a stone carving or brick with scribble?

Lord, help me boast only in You and that which brings You glory.