JAMES 4

6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore, he says:

God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

This speaks of repentance, not a lifestyle. This is the attitude a true remorseful sinner will have. We must submit to God. “This is an imperative – a command…surrender, resign, and relinquish.”[1]

God says he resists the proud. Proud in this verse is defined: “with an overweening estimate of one’s means or merits, despising others or even treating them with contempt, haughty.”[2] In chapter 3, James spoke of the wisdom of this world. The wisdom of this world exalts material success and/or great accomplishments as something for which to be proud. The self-made man should walk with his head held high. Often, this can cause him to have his nose in the air.

But the one who draws near to God with a remorseful, sorrowful heart for the sins that are so prevalent, is the one that God will exalt. God is not impressed with the “self-made man”. Frankly, in the eyes of the Kingdom of God, the only thing we are able to make on our own is a mess.

This is not to say we are never to laugh or have joy. That is unbiblical:

Our mouths were filled with laughter then, and our tongues with shouts of joy.

                                                                                                Psalm 126:2

When God exalts the humble, he raises us to “dignity, honor, and happiness. He raises the spirits by the blessing of salvation.”[3]

After we submit to God, humble ourselves and bring our sins to the throne and are forgiven; God gives us true joy, pure happiness, and everlasting love. The world is not capable of this, it can only offer a counterfeit.

---

[1] Guzik, BLB

[2] Westcott, Epistles of St. John, p. 64(b)

[3] Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, vis BLB