From James, a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes scattered all over the world.

But you must learn to endure everything, so you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.

If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking.

But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm.

If you are that kind of person, you can't make up your mind, and you surely can't be trusted. So don't expect the Lord to give you anything at all.

Poor People and Rich People

Any of God's people who are poor should be glad he thinks so highly of them.

But any who are rich should be glad when God makes them humble. Rich people will disappear like wild flowers

scorched by the burning heat of the sun. The flowers lose their blossoms, and their beauty is destroyed. This is how the rich will disappear, as they go about their business.

Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead.

Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing.

He wanted us to be his own special people, and so he sent the true message to give us new birth.

Hearing and Obeying

My dear friends, you should be quick to listen and slow to speak or to get angry.

You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be humble and accept the message planted in you to save you.

If you hear the message and don't obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror

and forget what they look like as soon as they leave.

But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don't just hear and forget.

Religion that pleases God the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil.

Warning against Having Favorites

My friends, if you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you won't treat some people better than others.

Suppose a rich person wearing fancy clothes and a gold ring comes to one of your meetings. And suppose a poor person dressed in worn-out clothes also comes.

You must not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the one who is poor to stand at the side or sit on the floor.

This is the same as saying that some people are better than others, and you would be acting like a crooked judge.

My dear friends, pay attention. God has given a lot of faith to the poor people in this world. God has also promised them a share in his kingdom that he will give to everyone who loves him.

You will do all right, if you obey the most important law in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others as much as we love ourselves.

But if you treat some people better than others, you have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that you have sinned.

If you obey every law except one, you are still guilty of breaking them all.