What I Learned from James: Brother of Jesus (Part 1)

James is one of my favorite books in the Bible (located in the New Testament) because it uses beautiful language and passion to communicate powerful lessons and biblical principles that everyone will benefit from incorporate into their life, in some way. This is the first part of a five-part-series explaining what I have learned from each of the five chapters of James. In each part I will discuss seven concepts.

Intro to James:

• The book of James was a letter from Jesus' half-brother James to the twelve tribes in diaspora.

• The book itself is one of the shortest in the entire Bible, containing only 5 chapters and a total of 108 verses.

• The main theme of the letter is "proving" our faith through our actions.

Bond-servant Mentality:

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings."- James 1:1

James was the brother of the most high. He could have started of his letters with "James, brother of your master", but he instead chose to say "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ". He teaches us to be humble and to live our lives serving God because we are indebted to him for all the good that he has done in our lives. A person with the bond-servant mentality does everything God commands without question, because he is our master. They do not complain. They are cared for greatly. And they are treated as friends, not slaves.

The Obstacle is The Way:

““Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” — James 1:2-4 (NIV)"

Have you ever been faced with adversity? With an obstacle? With any ill-tempered or arrogant person? Of course we have. But we should not look at these things or anything else as "bad" things but as great gifts because God uses them to build our character or even keep us away from certain harmful things. You are stuck in traffic? Good, now you can practice patience. A man insults you? Good that lets you test your forgiveness. Sick? Good, you get to test your faithfulness to God even when you are are weak. See all things as a way to refine your character and grow closer to God. Obstacles build endurance and this matures you and "makes you complete, not lacking in anything".

Don't Doubt God:

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” — James 1:6 (NIV)

Jesus told us that if we ask, it will be given to us by God-if we ask in faith, and that thing is rational and good. Among my readings of the Bible, it seems that one of God's favorite things to give is wisdom and instruction as he so joyfully gave King Solomon back in the old testament. In fact, it is wisdom that James is talking about in this passage. But if we ask anything from God, which we should do as a child asks of his parents, we should not have any doubt. If the almighty God decides that it is best to give you this thing, he will give it to you, If the almighty God decides that it will, in fact, hurt you, then be glad that he has you wait or tells you no. But to doubt God is an insult and shows lack of faith for he can do all things and cares deeply about you.

God is Not Our Tempter:

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” — James 1:13-15 (NIV)

God is not our tempter. He is not plotting your downfall or trying to cause you to sin. It is us that sin when we desire the things of the world-power, fame, money, intercourse outside of marriage, over indulgence of food and drink, etc. By realizing that it is our own desires that cause us to sin, not outside forces, we can train ourselves to desire the things of God-faith, hope, love, peace and joy by desiring to strengthen our relationship with God through journaling, praying, and reading scripture. We should also give up the desires that drag us away from God. After all, Jesus warns us that "we cannot serve two masters".

Quick to Hear, Slow to Speak, Slow to Anger:

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” — James 1:19-20 (NIV)

Here James is warning us on the danger of jumping to conclusions or judgments too quickly. This can cause us to easily speak in anger or some other negative emotion because we did not fully listen to or understand the other person. We are instead encouraged to take the time to actively listen to the other person and understand what the other person is trying to say. Then we are to delay speaking the first thing that comes to our minds-or in other words, think for a moment before you respond. And by doing this you can replace your anger with encouragement, reason, or any other positive form of communication. In that moment where you stop to think, think what would Jesus do?

Do Not Fake It:

“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” — James 1:23-24 (NIV)

Christianity and your relationship to God is not just something that you "turn on" Sunday mornings or on Easter and Christmas, it is something that is intrinsically inside you every moment. God should be in your thoughts constantly. You should pray to him, in private, everyday. You should read God's word and meditate on it everyday. It is not enough to just go to church every Sunday. Truly seek to better yourself and grow closer with God so that you do not just "fake it".

Control the Tongue:

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.” — James 1:26 (NIV)

In this verse James is warning us about the danger of not controlling our speech-that is to speak things that are rude or untruthful or arrogant or anything else that we would not want God to hear. In James 3 he continues this theme saying how hypocritical we as Christians can be because with the same mouth we "bless God" and "curse men". So, if we want to please God and be virtuous, we need to have self-control and speak in the way that the apostle Paul instructs in Ephesians 4:29 "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear".