Day 354: Patient honesty – James 5 vs 7 -12
7-9 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. 10-11 Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because “the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”
12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,” that you may not incur condemnation. James 5:7-12 New American Bible. (Paraphrased version link)
James wrote to Christians going through struggles. Many would’ve been Jews who had become followers of Jesus and they would have experienced much rejection from fellow Jews. Some may even have lost homes and incomes. There were also some 'theological' arguments in the Church and the problem of pushy folk wanting to teach everyone else. But perhaps the hardest struggle was seeing arrogant wealthy people in society exploiting others. What did James urge Christians to do in vs 7-9?
He encourages them to be patient under their trials and not to take it out on one another. He is basically saying that matters will be put right when the Lord returns and that could happen any day, even though it seemed to be taking a long time. They must remember that Jesus isn't only a Saviour, He is also the one who will judge our lives. Salvation doesn't give us the liberty to live in unkind and unholy ways while we wait for Christ to return. When he began this letter James said: “Consider it great joy whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4) Being patient through life’s struggles develops our character and our faith matures.
In vs 10-11 James reminds them of how the Old Testament prophets patiently endured so many hardships as they spoke God's message in their generation; and of how the man named Job had lost his family, fortune and health - and yet had persevered in believing that God is good. And what all those Old Testament believers ultimately discovered was that God is compassionate and merciful. The journey may be long and sometimes hard, but the destination will be glorious.
Verse 12 may seem odd at this stage of the letter but can you see how it could relate to the attitude in life James has been encouraging Christians to put on?
It seems he is calling them to make honesty very real in their life. While vow making was usually associated with promises made to God, it obviously became common in the market place too. Even today one hears people using phrases to convince others that what they are saying is true. Phrases like 'I swear that's what happened', or, 'as true as Bob, that's what she said!' Christians are called to be honest always. We must never exploit or deceive anyone with lies cloaked by empty promises. James must’ve had Jesus' words in Matthew 5:33-37 in mind. Jesus taught the people saying: “You've heard it said in the old days ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord’ - but I say to you, don’t use an oath at all. Don’t swear by Heaven for it is God’s throne, nor by the earth for it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king. And don’t swear by your own head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black! Whatever you have to say let your ‘yes’ be a plain ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ a plain ‘no’ - anything more than this has a taint of evil.”
As we go through life's struggles we are called to be patient and honest. God is with us and our reward at Christ's return will far outweigh all our trials.