Humility
James 1:9 But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.
Consider
* brother of humble circumstances (already humble)
* rich man is to glory in his humiliation (has to become humble)
This doesn’t necessarily mean that being rich equals haughtiness nor does being poor result in humility. A homeless guy on the streets of the U.S.A. is likely to be better off than the average citizen in many countries. That homeless guy may even have a better net worth than many “successful” U.S. business people.
We grew up in a U.S.A. that was “better” than other countries. We tried to export our governing system, we became the world currency. We were always the “savior” in disasters. And we threw money around as if it could be printed out of thin air.
“God’s people” as a subset of the U.S. population, have gotten accustomed to equating wealth and success with Godliness. This is a polite way of saying that we’ve allowed wealth to become an idol.
Father, we know that whether in wealth or poverty, we need to be humble. Cleanse our hearts as we go to our knees before You.