May we be exalted by God alone

Jas 1:9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
Jas 1:10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
Jas 1:11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

Brother of low degree and the rich. It's safe to say these verses are talking about the poor and the rich. The poor rejoice because they are exalted.

Remember this verse-

Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

Being of a low degree- not having a high exalted position- we can rejoice because of this when the world would rather that we spend our days lamenting the fact we weren't born with that silver spoon in our mouths. In truth there are many more people who are poor than those who are rich. And way too many poor despise being less affluent. There is entirely too much time spent seeking riches- too much time spent trying to acquire things of this world and not things of heaven. The brother of low degree can rejoice because he will not necessarily become rich, but rather be exalted in his low estate.

Exalted- raised, lifted up, elevated. How are the brothers of low degree, the poor, the humble exalted? This is a spiritual exaltation, isn't it? This is a spiritual richness that comes from God and not from any man. And it's not easy for a rich man to become humble enough, to become of low degree enough to see His need of God to exalt him. The rich are often too busy exalting themselves and letting others exalt them to see their need of God's exalting. Only when a rich man realizes that he, like every other human being, is in need-desperate need of God can he understand and be made low. Otherwise, the rich will die in their richness, never realizing their need of a Savior.

Spiritual exaltation. Exalted by God, exalted to understand the kingdom of God, to understand the gospel. The poor, those of low degree have very little to keep them from realizing their need. We are blessed as being poor, blessed.

We should not seek to exalt ourselves either. We could NEVER gain a single earthly treasure that has the power to elevate us heavenward, not one! If we do exalt ourselves we will be abased, we will be brought down low.

This is all about learning that there needs to be LESS of us and more of GOD. God alone deserves a high estate, God alone deserves to be exalted. We are His children, we are His servants, we are His -belonging to Him. He is our heavenly Parent, He is our heavenly Master.

So while the temptation may come to us to covet riches, let us realize how dangerous that is, how dangerous it is to be in a place where you no longer sense a need of God in all things great and small. Riches numb the senses, riches steal from us the sense of neediness. By the grace of God may we NEVER become so rich that we lose sight of our need of God in ALL things. May we forever be brought low so we may be exalt by GOD and only by God and never by us, never by ourselves.


Please Lord, please help us humble ourselves so we may be exalted by YOU. Let our riches be found in YOU and only in YOU. Please Lord God, please let us always understand our need of YOU. In Your amazing LOVE, always.

Amen.