soapbox anyone?

"the brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. but the one who is rich should take pride in his low position..."

just a few very short verses later, i come to the next part of James that grabs me vigorously. taking our cultural understanding and turning it upside down, we're reminded that it is he with little who is the honored one in God's kingdom. that God does not subscribe to our rating systems, to our caste system, to our material based hierachical structure. instead, he is concerned with our level of humility...of our ability to view ourselves through his eyes. not to demean ourselves, but to place our worth in his Word in us. just ten verses later, this theme is revisited. where does humility begin? with a listening ear. "everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." what a terrifying reminder in the day of Crossfire politics, of smackdowns, even of incessant blogging and opinion stating. in the age of "me", how well do we listen to others?

but i love, as well, what follows this up..."do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself: do what it says". Listening is good, and must be the start, but we'll have none of this listening unless it results in living. i recently read an article on Relevant that talked about the balance of social justice...that too much of the social justice movement is about making a lot of noise but with negligible help. so we can all sign online petitions to "make poverty history"...we can all wear armbands to kill cancer or support research...we can even sponsor a child or have passionate discussion about the injustice in the world. but who of us are living lives that are radically reflecting our starbucks conversations? who of us are owning sections of the world for Christ...are living his calling in our vocation? in politics, in business, in entertainment, in education. we must listen. and then we must do what we've heard, living it out with open ears for further direction.

boy oh boy...i like james.