How do you respond to hard times? The temptation, and the one that the richer members of James’ audience had fallen for, is to look after yourself at any cost. The motto of such people is “Let everyone else suffer, I’m not so weak.” So, difficult times encourage exploitation as we seek to protect our own interests by taking advantage of others. If profits are falling and you are not going to be able to keep your own family in the comfort to which they are accustomed, cut the wages of others. If costs are rising because of inflation and tax increases, then make sure you pass on those costs to your customers, even if this means that those most in need are priced out of the market. James now offers an alternative and better response.
A look at the text (Read James 5:7-12)
If the rich have been acting as wicked, exploitative farmers, there is the good farmer who offers a better example. A farmer is patient, he ploughs, sows and waits, knowing that the rainy season will come and cause the crop to grow and bear fruit. So too, believers should be patient knowing that just as the rains will come, so too, we can look forward to Christ coming in order to end suffering, put all things right and reward faithfulness (5:7). If the farmer’s focus is on preparing his land and sowing seed, the believer’s responsibility during trials and suffering is to cultivate their heart, to grow in love and faithfulness (5:8). This is worked out, as we’ve seen previously in our attitudes to one another. This goes beyond not exploiting, it also means that we are not to resent or grumble against others even when we feel worse off than them. This ties into previous comments about not being hasty to judge, to grumble against others is to judge them but true judgement is coming when our own hearts will be exposed (5:9).
James now provides another example, turning from geography to history he encourages his readers to follow the example of the Old Testament prophets who lived and spoke faithfully for God, even when this led to suffering (5:10). He offers the specific example of Job, who Satan tested, to try and get him to curse God. Job refused to blame the Lord. Not only do we have the example of these Old Testament heroes of faith but we also know what their faith was in. So, thirdly, James points us to God’s character. What will keep us going through hardship? It is by knowing that God is loving and compassionate, that his purpose is to do us good (5:11).
The outworking of patient faith, will be seen in our speech, just as we’ve seen through the letter. Believers are to be people who keep their word. Furthermore, simple commitments and promises should be enough. The believer does not swear on other things, in other words, just as we can trust God, so others should be able to trust is and rely on our word and character (5:12).
Digging a little deeper
Notice the emphasis here on “the coming of the Lord.” James sets his expectations for believers against the context of Christ’s return. This helps us to understand a bit more about what James considers faith to be. Faith is about trust in God’s promise and that promise is salvation in Christ. So, for the believer, our faith is both that God has kept his promise in Christ’s death and resurrection to deal with our sin and that God will keep his promise to bring about a new creation and our resurrection when Christ returns.
How we live here and now, how we respond to suffering, persecution and testing will be shaped by our eschatology, what we believe about where the future is heading. There is an imminence to James’ eschatology, he expects his believers to expect that Christ’s return could be at any point soon. They are to live now, ready for judgement, knowing that their own hearts will be exposed. They are to live now, knowing that the trials they are going through are momentary and so they can look forward to what is beyond, the harvest to come.
A look at ourselves
Are we living in expectant hope of Christ’s return. How does that shape our priorities? How does that help us respond to the trials and struggles we face?
Faithroots 