The Joy of Work

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves about who we are. As believers and ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we are servants and should have the same mind and attitude as our savior. “go labor on spend and be spent thy joy to do the masters will, it is the way the master went should not his servants tread it still.” The English is old so maybe you would relate to this thought better. “It is better to burn out than fade away.” Paul declared, “I press on to the high calling”

I am greatly concerned with the level of grace that we have allowed in our lives, and its effect on our personal righteousness. Labor can keep all of us Holy. Working out our salvation may need to be taken more literally. I suspect that is true of many believers in this generation. Our works and our faith seem separated and we therefore do not have a strong foundation for serving God and each other.

The theme of the Book of James takes tension of work and faith and merges them in a form that becomes impossible to separate. Martin Luther who had worked so hard at this salvation without faith hated this book and wanted it removed from the canon of scripture. He simple could not reconcile it with the “just shall live by faith” I am not the theologian he was nor am I obsessed with perfect answers, what I do want to see in my own life and the life of others is outcomes based on evidence of a life as a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore I align myself with the Apostle that said, “show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”

To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
James is writing to Jewish believers scattered in the persecution of the church. How much anti-Semitism would have been avoid in the history of the church if the gentile believers had remembered that the controversy of the New Testament was how does the church assimilate Gentiles not how does the church assimilate the Jew?

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] 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 sets before us the outcome that the Lord is seeking in our lives, “mature and complete, not lacking anything” The means to the accomplishment of this goal is the facing of “many kinds of trials” Persecution is one that we have already confronted in this chapter, but is not frequently encountered in the modern western church. However, persecution is just one of the ‘many kinds’ the life of faith will be tested with. The outcome the Lord is looking for is ‘pure joy’. The pandemic of depression in the western world would indicate that we are not obtaining this outcome. Ralph Waldo Emerson had a suggested remedy for depression. “Don't waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours and ages that will follow it.”

Work has a value in and of itself. Theodore Roosevelt said, “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” The work of preaching the Gospel is work worth doing.
If we are to be mature and complete we need to understand that we were made for a purpose. The 12 century Persian poet Jalal ad-Din Rumi captures this truth in the following saying, “Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.” Often times that particular work or call has to be labored for and wrestled with, but if we ask in faith we will receive it.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Wisdom will deliver you from a trail and from a temptation. Wisdom will give you stability the midst of the storm. The opposite of wisdom might not be foolishness. It might be faithlessness. The consequence of a lack a faith is consistent failure in all that is attempted.

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. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Your place in the world does not matter, rich or poor great or small we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account for what we did with our lives. William Wallace character in Brave Heart says without hesitation, “God makes men what they are”

Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Wallace’s confidence came from a faith that believed in freedom and purpose and nationalism, all Biblical concepts. He knew what he was made to do, and in life or in death he was determined to see it through to the end. All Believers should have this attitude. I am here on Earth to serve, to love, the labor, to be free to live like I am called to live. Then I will work with pure joy and I will be made fully complete