James 1:9-11

James 1:9-11 (NRSV)
"Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will dissappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away."


James 1:9-11 (NIV)
"The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 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 man will fade away even while he goes about his business."


I've been wrestling to understand the comment about the rich. If being brought low, for the rich, means that they will 'pass away like a wild flower,' 'its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed,' 'the rich man will fade away even while he goes aboubt his business...' BUT the rich should boast in being brought low. The difficulty a rich man has entering Heaven is spoken about in Scripture. Is that what this passage is saying? That the trials of a rich person will be for them like the scorching sun upon a flower? Why does this verse foretell the destruction of the rich man as if the temptations of pride and selfishness are not something he can overcome? "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13

Is it the arrogant of which this passage speaks? Proverbs 20:18 says that God will richly bless the obedient, but the one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.

Insights, anyone?