James 4:9: “Be miserable and mourn and weep. Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow”.
I am a mostly glass half full kinda gal. I try to live my life with a positive attitude. My current boss calls me “Miss Sunshine.” So, to tell me a I need to be miserable, mourn and weep creates conflict within my soul.
James just told us in Verse 8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you,” in the very next verse, James is telling us to be miserable? What is that all about? Our Attitude! (of course)
With verse 9, James is referring back to Jesus’s teaching of the Beatitudes (a group of “blessed are” statements) in His Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:1-12) and Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20-26).
Matthew 5:4, “Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted”. (Sermon on the Mount)
Luke 6:25: “Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep”. (Sermon on the Plain)
Our attitude gets us in trouble
I was told as a teenager and repeated the statement to my children, “It is your attitude that gets you in trouble.” It still does. If our attitude is not grieving over the wretchedness of our sin, then our position is not in line with where God wants us. We should be mourning over our sin and not laughing. What I believe both Jesus and James are teaching is about our countenance over our sinful nature. When we have that right, we will be miserable that we have disappointed the God of the universe.
Dear Lord, search my heart, show me areas that I need to change and help me to change. In Jesus name, Amen.
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Jas 4:9). (Mt 5:4).(Lk 6:25).Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
