James 1:9-11
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
If we have but little, then when God lifts us up we can glory both in God’s grace shown to us and in the improved situation. If we have much, when we are brought low we can glorify God for teaching us all comes from Him whom we can utterly rely on. Either way, we should be able to ascribe all we have or seem to lack to His sovereign hand of grace that works all for ultimate good. We look too often at the here and now to gauge our contentment and happiness instead of finding joy in our Savior and trust in His working in our calling. If we pursue riches and attempted contentment in possessions, power, fame, or any other self-serving aim, we miss the mark and are like the wilting flower in the heat of adversity. Our outward satisfaction will ever fall short, but inward contentment with godliness (1 Timothy 6:6) is fully satisfying. Do we want to run after a temporal prize, or one that never can fade away (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)? It is far better to accept what we are given by God and to pursue Him than grasp at the wind and have only fleeting moments to remember, for the eternal things in Christ never fade, tarnish, or crumble (1 Peter 1:4, 5:4) - they are eternally glorifying to God and beneficial to us.
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