Gleaning from the Book of James

I was reading James 2 this morning. James' writing is quite unique. Overall I feel a certain warmth towards him and really respect him for what he has to say. But he is like a brother you like but would rather keep a distance! He seemed rigid, dogmatic, short of empathy, and some of the things he said seemed to stir up confusion and controversy. Here is a sample of his famous verses:

On suffering: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4)

On God's unchanging generosity: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)

On obeying the Word: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do." (James 1:22-25)

On showing favoritism: "But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (James 2:9-10)

On faith and work: "But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." (James 2:18-19)

On controlling our tongue: "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness." (James 3:9)

On true wisdom: "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness." (James 3:17-18)

On fights and quarrels, Christian discord: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."  (James 4:7, 10)

On confession and prayer: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins." (James 5:16, 20b)

The author James is thought to be the half-brother of Jesus. The "letter" is one of the "circular epistles" which was passed around and read in different locations. There is therefore no salutation in the beginning or the end of the letter. This letter was thought to have been written very early on, after the scattering (James 1:1) of Jewish believers from the persecution in Acts 8:1-4. This happened before the formation of any churches.

I have found this commentary very helpful to understand the purpose of the letter:
It has long been a common misperception that James has no unified theme and is simply

a series of aphorisms or maxims strung together in what was called in the ancient world a “string of pearls.” The epistle, however, clearly indicates the writer’s purpose to develop a primary theme. That theme is that believers should meet trials with faith and wisdom, resulting in joy (Jam 1:2–5)... The theme is mentioned at the beginning (1:2–5) and the end (5:7–11) in what might be called grammatical “bookends.” A strong promise is given at the beginning, of the eternal benefit of meeting trials and temptations with faith and wisdom (1:12). This promise is reinforced at the end of the book (5:19–20) by a practical illustration of the intercession of one believer in behalf of another. 
From - basictraining.org

Although the context is different. Believers that James spoke to were persecuted and scattered from their homes and suffered tremendously because of their faith.  James is still teaching me to face difficulties in life head on. The uncompromising approach is what is needed a lot of the times. The faith-work debate boils down to these practical day-to-day disciplines:

• suffering (even from bad choices I made in the past) can be used by God to shape my character
• obey God's Word whenever I am prompted by the Holy Spirit (see my blog on Nov 7)
• be particularly generous with Christians, watch my tongue, be a peace maker
• confess my sin if I have wronged someone - it will heal the relationship
• finally, pray for one another
• rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4)! For Nehemiah said, “Go and (1)enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and (2)send some to those who have nothing prepared. (3)This day is holy to our Lord. (4)Do not grieve, for (5)the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)