Literary References

• Les Misérables (1862) by Victor Hugo

• The Brothers Karamazov (1880) by Fyodor Dostoevsky

• The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald

• A Christmas Carol (1843) and A Tale of Two Cities (1859) by Charles Dickens

James 1:9–11

“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass, he will pass away.
11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes.
So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.”

Word Study

• “lowly”, Gk. ταπεινός (tapeinos) — “humble, low”

• “the rich”, Gk. πλούσιος (plousios) — “the rich, opulent, wealthy”

  • NIV/NASB: “those of humble circumstances”

• “boast”, Gk. καυχάομαι (kauchaomai) — “rejoice”

• “exaltation”, Gk. ὕψος (hypsos)

Related Verses

• Luke 24:49

  “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high (ὕψος).”

• Ephesians 4:8

  “He ascended on high (ὕψος).”

Three Groups Addressed in the Book of James

1. The lowly Christian

2. The rich Christian

3. The rich non-Christian (James 5:1–6)

• “humiliation”, Gk. ταπείνωσις (tapeinōsis) — “low place”

Two Issues

1. Self-loathing

   • Genesis 1:26

   • Psalm 139:14

2. Self-sufficiency

   • Obadiah 1:3–4

   • Romans 12:3

   • 2 Corinthians 12:9

   • Philippians 2:3