James who?
Who wrote the letter we are about to study?
It is generally believed that the author of the Epistle of James was a son of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, and therefore the half brother of the Savior. James is mentioned in Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3; Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; and Galatians 1:19; 2:9. It appears from these scriptures that James was a Church leader in Jerusalem and had been called as an Apostle (see Galatians 1:19).
—Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families, New Testament: James
Words as wildfires
I feel certain that James wrote this proverb because so many of us have the tendency to do the opposite: we don’t listen until it’s too late, we speak without thinking first, and we quickly lose our tempers, often without pausing to consider the other side’s point of view.
19 Wherefore, my beloved [sisters and] brethren, let every [woman and] man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
James 1:19
- What’s does it mean to be swift to hear? How can we become more swift to hear?
- What’s does it mean to be slow to speak? Why would we want to be slow to speak?
- How can we become slower to wrath?
James speaks more about the dangers of not controlling our speech in James 3:5-6.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
James 3:5-6
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
The King James version of the Bible is missing an important piece of the metaphor: the forest that the fire sets ablaze. So I recommend sharing a different translation, like this one:
5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
James 3:5-6, New American Standard Bible
6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our body’s parts as that which defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
- How can our words “set a forest aflame” like a fire?
- How can our words “set a fire on the course of our life”?
- How can we prevent our words from creating wildfire-like problems or setting the course of our lives on fire?
Although fire is destructive, we have many important uses for controlled fires. The same is true for the power of words.
- How can the power of language be applied for good?
- What experiences have you had that demonstrate the power that language can have?
Sometimes when we talk about language in a church setting, we default to topics like not swearing. While James mentioned cursing in his letter, he was using the word in a different way. James focused more on how we should avoid weaponizing language against other people. His writings raise the questions:
- How do we speak about other people?
- How do we speak to other people?
Invite the class to consider these two questions as they silently read James 3:9-11 and James 4:11-12.
9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men [and women], which are made after the similitude of God.
James 3:9-11
10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren [and sisters], these things ought not so to be.
11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
11 Speak not evil one of another, [sisters and] brethren. He [or she] that speaketh evil of his brother [or sister], and judgeth his brother [or sister], speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
James 4:11-12
12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
After reading, discuss:
- What kinds of speech is James warning us to avoid when we talk about other people?
- What kinds of speech is James warning us to avoid when we talk to other people?
- Why must we avoid cursing others or speaking evil of others?
- How can we become better at using language to uplift other people rather than hurting them?
The sin of prejudice
In the King James version of the Bible, we read James’s warning that to “have respect to persons” is a sin (James 2:9). What does that mean? Again, it helps to review other translations here. Most translations use the term favoritism or partiality in place of respect (See Bible Hub.) When we show favoritism toward certain groups of people, we also show prejudice or bias against others. Some common examples include racism, sexism, and homophobia.
2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
James 2:2-9
3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
- Why do we sometimes treat those who have money, fame, or power differently than those who don’t?
- How can we avoid treating others differently based on what their circumstances are?
James warned the Saints specifically against favoring the rich and despising the poor, but his warning can apply to any biases or prejudices we may have toward others. As you prayerfully study James 2:1–9, search your own heart and listen for the Holy Ghost’s promptings. It might help to replace phrases in these verses, such as “a poor man in vile raiment” (verse 2), with other words or phrases that describe someone you might be tempted to judge unfairly. Do you sense any changes you need to make in the way you treat or think of others?
—Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families, New Testament: James
By definition, our implicit biases are invisible to us, which can make them hard to overcome, but our omnisicent God can bless our efforts.
In Psalm 139: 23-24 it says “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” …I believe we all should go to God and ask what He thinks. And when He tells you there is work to do in loving your neighbor better, find resources such as books or podcasts that can help you become more racially literate. Do the work. I know that uprooting racism and implicit biases from our hearts is a big part of the second greatest commandment to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” We cannot love someone else with equal measure if there is even a drop of belief, unconscious or learned, that we are in some way superior. Doing the personal work of anti-racism is one of the most Christlike things we can do.
— Michelle Franzoni Thorley, Christlike Attributes, Implicit Bias, and Loving Your BIPOC Neighbor as Yourself, Exponent II, October 8, 2020
Notice how Sister Thorley emphasized both faith (…go to God and ask…) and works (…find resources…do the work…) as key to overcoming racism and bias. Her counsel aligns well with admonition from James:
26 For as the body without the aspirit is bdead, so faith without cworks is dead also.
James 2:26
- How can we employ both faith and works to recognize and reduce bias?
Faith like Rahab, the harlot
I think it is apparent that James himself was working to combat bias in his own life. In his letter, he chose to point to Rahab as an example of faith and good works. Rahab was a hero of the Old Testament (see Genesis 22:1–12) but she was also a woman, a Canaanite, and a prostitute; all of which were marginalized demographics within James’s society. Even today, some modern Christians struggle with the discomfort of acknowledging her heroism because she was also a prostitute.
24 Ye see then how that by aworks a [woman or] man is bjustified, and not by faith only.
James 2:24-25
25 Likewise also was not aRahab the harlot bjustified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the aspirit is bdead, so faith without cworks is dead also.
Marianna Richardson relates Rahab’s story in this 6-minute video.
Rahab’s Example, Scripture Central
- How was Rahab an example of faith justified by works?
I particularly like this story because it complicates our assumptions and judgments of others and remind us that though women may be a minority in scripture they always enter the narrative at critical junctures. Rahab was considered a “Woman of Valor” in Jewish Midrashim. Her name means “to be wide or enlarge”—perhaps a shortened version of “God has enlarged.” The children of Israel could not have entered the promised land without her. Her story reminds us that God is no respecter of persons, that God’s grace can transform all of us, and that no matter our past we can extend the same salvation we have received to others and help lead them to the promised land. We can all become “saviours on Mt. Zion” (Obad. 1:21). …The hero of the story is not actually a hero at all by Israelite cultural ideals. A woman could never be the hero. Yet our antihero is not only a woman, but a Canaanite, an owner of her own public house, and a member of the “world’s most ancient profession”—a harlot or prostitute. Some have tried to say she was not a prostitute at all, but the Hebrew zonah used here consistently denotes illicit sexual relations. I come from a long line of women who have done what they needed to do to care for their families—this did not mean that they were always right or exempt from the judgment of others. Discomfort is essential to the narrative.
— Janiece Johnson, Rahab, The LDS Women Project
Rahab has a special function in the biblical narratives of Israel’s existence in the land. When uncovering the men, she explains that she knows that God will give Israel the land (2:8). She has heard about the events of the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea) and the defeat of the Amorite kings Og and Sihon, and she declares (quoting from the Song of Miriam in Exodus 15; see v. 11) that “dread” has fallen on the inhabitants and that they all “fear” Israel (2:9). This is the message that the men bring back to Joshua. Rahab is thus the oracle, or prophet, of Israel’s occupation of the land. Another woman, the prophet Deborah, announced a major victory in the taking of Canaan; and the end of Israel’s occupation of the land is pronounced by yet another woman, the prophet Huldah (2 Kgs 22:14–21). Rahab, who begins as triply marginalized—Canaanite, woman, and prostitute—moves to the center as bearer of a divine message and herald of Israel in its new land. Even though later generations of readers have been squeamish about her occupation, preferring to think of her as an “innkeeper,” she is remembered in Jewish tradition as the great proselyte, as ancestress of kings and prophets, and, in the New Testament, as ancestress of Jesus (Matt 1:5).
— Tikva Frymer-Kensky, updated by Carol Meyers, Rahab: Bible, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Jewish Womens Archive
- How does Rahab’s story illustrate that God is no respector of persons?
- How can we get past our discomfort or squeamishness to learn from heros of all walks of life?
Another short article I enjoyed on this topic was Was the harlot Rahab a direct ancestor of Jesus? Ask Gramps, May 29, 2006, which cleverly hints at how differently we remember King David, a man of high socioeconomic status, despite his sins.
Faith without works is dead
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22-24
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
- What is the difference between a hearer of the word and a doer of the word?
- What do you think James was trying to illustrate by comparing a hearer of the word to the man with a mirror?
14 What doth it profit, my brethren [and sisters], though a man [or woman] say he [or she] hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him [or her}?
James 2:14-17
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
- What does James mean when he says faith without works is dead?
- How can we find motivation to act on our faith?
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself [or herself] unspotted from the world.
James 1:27
- How can we make our practice of religion more pure?
- Why do you think James called out the needs of the fatherless and widows specifically?
- If James were to write a similar letter today, who might he mention as afflicted in our modern world? How can we meet the needs of those who are afflicted today?
Blessings of temptation?
James talks about temptation in an unusual way, encouraging us to see it as a joy (James 1:2) and a blessing (James 1:12).
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
James 1:2-4
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
James 1:12
Is there a translation error here? Well, maybe. The greek word peirasmos could be translated as trials, instead of temptations. (See Bible Hub and Bible Study Tools.) This translation may feel more comfortable to us; we are more accustomed to being told to endure trials joyfully and see them as blessings than to be told the same thing about temptations, which we are usually encouraged to avoid. However, either translation is plausible, and temptation is really just a specific kind of trial: “the trial of man’s [or woman’s] fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy,” according to Bible Study Tools. The reality is, we can’t avoid temptation any more than we can avoid other kinds of trials. Even Christ was tempted. If it is possible to be blessed and find joy as we endure other kinds of trials, why wouldn’t the same joy and blessings come about through enduring temptation?
- How can experiencing trials and/or temptations bless us?
- What is the “perfect work” of patience?
- How can we show the Lord that we are willing to be patient?
