Why Boasting in Your Humiliation is Good for Your Soul

"Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation..."

I've been pondering the seeming irony of this verse for the past couple of months. To the lowly, James instructs to boast in their exaltation but the rich are told to focus on their humiliation. It's counter-intuitive to way this world works but it's the way the invisible, other-worldly kingdom of Christ.

Many of us will, at times, find ourselves either as lowly or rich, depending on the circumstance. The focus of my meditation however, has been on what it means for the rich Christian, to "boast in his humiliation". The idea of humiliation in this context is stark and extreme. Boasting or making much of our humiliation does not come naturally to any of us, even less so for those who are rich or powerful. Yet, it's exactly the prescription James offers for those who are rich in the assembly of the church.

More importantly, how does one boast in his humiliation. Here are four ways that you may find helpful if on occasion and circumstance, you find yourself counted among the rich.

1. Consider our own mortality and finitude -

Reading James 1:10-11 in entirety sheds light on this -

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

The rich person ought to boast in his humiliation because he will pass away - his wealth, fame and power will not last. Boasting in your humiliation means reminding yourself and anyone around you) that your wealth and power is finite and will pass with time. It also means that you want live to as to demonstrate that this is true.

2. Live to pursue God, not wealth, power or fame

The admonition assumes that the rich man is pursuing wealth as the aim of his life. But boasting in our humiliation means demonstrating the folly of this approach. The wise rich believer who chooses to do this, will pursue God instead of wealth or self-aggrandizement of any kind.

3. Make plans with deference to God's will

James 4: 13-16 speaks to the mindset that undergirds this kind of plan-making. It is the kind of plan making that not only seeks to discover God's will but also depends on God's power to accomplish the objectives of the plan.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

The temptation for some of us is to invest trust not in God but in our ability to execute well-crafted plans. When you're in a position of relative wealth or power, you might not be aware of your daily need for God's provision. God calls such presumption - evil boasting. Rather, we ought to make our plans with deference to God's will and with an awareness of our need for His blessing.

4. Remember your true identity.

Boasting in our humiliation means keeping in mind our true identity as sinners saved by the grace and generosity of God. While there isn't a particular verse in James that clearly illustrates this, it is unquestionable that James himself understood this. He chose to address himself as "...servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" even though he was, humanly speaking, the brother of Jesus. In the words of Paul, James chose to count his familial relationship "as loss" for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus. Whether rich or poor, we were spiritual orphans, adopted into God's family and now we enjoy full privileges only as a result of God's kindness.

Quote of the Week

"It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it. The motive is everything"

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, p. 127

How a Christian Leaves His Job

For the past two weeks, sports media outlets like ESPN have been filled with incessant talk and angst about Lebron James' free agency decision - will he leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, his hometown team? Who will have the benefit of his considerable skills - Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls?

It's "over the top" and resulted the unthinkable - eclipsing coverage of the World Cup Finals! On Thursday night, Lebron James announced in an ESPN special show that he was going to the Miami Heat. It was followed by a heated response from the Cleveland Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert. Gilbert characterized Lebron's actions, in particular, the manner in which he made and announced his decision as "a several day, narcissistic, self promotional buildup...". While Gilbert's response was particularly edgy, he was not alone - many others in the media found it distasteful.

The point of this post isn't about Lebron's character or his choice to leave Cleveland Cavaliers. Most of us won't be playing professional sports anytime soon and when we leave our place of employment, it won't be as public. However, I'm wondering if there are lessons to learn from Lebron's actions that can apply to how our own employment opportunities. In this high paced, transient, corporate world we live in, many of us will have more than 10 jobs in our lifetime. Sometimes we're forced to leave our place of work due to a termination, but often, we'll have opportunities presented to us. What's the right way to leave a job that happens?

I'd like to suggest that "love for neighbor" is one of the primary issues we should consider when we are presented with our own "decision". Unlike marriage, we're not expected to stay in a job "for better or for worse" or "till death do us part". However, as Christians, we're called to act in a loving manner, not simply in the context of the church and family, but in all of life... including our place of work. This means that when we are considering to leave our place of employment, we should do so with kindness and care toward those we work with.

We should ask ourselves the following questions and wrestle with the answers-

"Is this a good time to leave?" - if you're in the middle of a project, your role is critical and people are counting on your contribution, it's probably not the right time. Trust that God will make an opportune time for your departure such that you won't alienate your fellow workers and cast a bad light on the reputation of Christ.

"How will my departure affect those who remain and how can I make that transition easier?" - if you choose to leave, then do so in way that can makes it easy for the organization to transition your departure.

"How can I be sure not to demonstrate respect for those who remain - fellow employees and management" - hint: no gloating about your new wonderful job (... and no ESPN special show to promote yourself and publicly humiliate the team you're leaving)

"How can I recognize the good things about the current place of employment and how I've benefited from it" - think about all you've gained in experience, friendships that have enriched you, help that you've received over the years .

Anything I've missed here - what are your thoughts?

Quote of the Week

"Therefore human desires to increase the production of goods and services are not in themselves greedy or materialistic or evil. Rather, such desires to be more productive represent God-given desires to accomplish and achieve and solve problems. They represent God-given desires to exercise dominion over the earth and exercise faithful stewardship so that we and others may enjoy the resources of the earth that God made for our use and for our enjoyment."

Wayne Grudem, Business for the Glory of God, p.28

Leaders Are Always On

Harvard professor, Rosabeth Moss Kanter blogs about how a leader's words and action are always on display. Failure to remember this can be costly as former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown can attest to. A carelessly spoken word when he assumed microphones were off, may have indeed cost Brown the British election.

Kanter explains -

"At a rally shortly before the election, Prime Minister Brown was asked some awkward questions about foreign workers that he answered politely. A few minutes later, he was heard over an open channel and later the broadcast airwaves complaining to aides for exposing him to "a bigoted woman". His insult and apology dominated press coverage... There is no "off" switch for leaders."

Most of us will never attain such lofty positions of leadership but the lesson is a good one. If you plan to lead, you need to be aware that your words and actions are always on display, especially in our current social media infused world. The burden of leadership is that people are watching and they often take their cues from what we say and do. Here's what Kanter says -

"Followers can be acutely attuned to the merest hint of a leader's state of mind and act on their assumptions, sometimes tragically."

Yet, for the Christian, it is not simply the eyes and ears of men that should concern us. Our speech and actions are always before God. We are regulated by His Spirit. Our hearts are convicted when we speak unkindly or carelessly. We are called to account for our secret actions. In a way, we are truly "always on" - not simply in front on men and women but before the Audience of One.

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned"

Matt 12:36

Quote of the Week

"It's natural and healthy to hope for ourselves, but it's provincial and unhealthy to hope only for ourselves. Egocentric persons curve in on themselves. With only their own interests at heart, and only their own futures in view, they eventually harden themselves into a small, snail-like shell... But the person who keeps her head up so that she can look out toward the future of others - this is a person with some range to her hope. This is a person who has been enlarged by the Holy Spirit."

Cornelius Plantinga, Engaging God's World, p.12