7 Feb 2012
James 1:1
James 1:1: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.”
As others have pointed out, James was the half-brother of Jesus, but he doesn’t mention this amazing fact in his introduction. He simply calls himself “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”. He identifies himself without drawing attention to who he is or what his credentials are.
That is really quite an impressive show of humility and selflessness! Today so many people go out of their way to make sure everyone knows how incredible they are and how many great things they’ve done. Self-promotion is absolutely huge – even among pastors, who can’t seem to resist telling people all the good deeds they’ve done that week or all the amazing things they’ve done in the past. Who today would fail to mention that they were the half-brother of Jesus – especially if they had a book to sell? Talk about instant fame!
James really wasn’t too concerned that people knew who he was, or understood how great he was, or were well-versed in the thousand amazing things he had done. He simply said “I’m James” and then launched into a God-centered and God-glorifying message. You don’t see him talking about how he fed 13 orphans, or raised someone from the dead, or performed miracles, or healed the sick, or anything about himself at all. His focus was on God and on telling others the things they needed to know so that their lives might better glorify their Savior.
We would do well to follow his example. God does not want us spending our time telling others how great we are. If we boast at all, let us boast in the Lord.