Count It Pure Joy

James 5:9– Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged.  The judge is standing at the door.

Counting trials as pure joy(James 1:2) cannot be done if we grumble against one another.  James keeps letting us know how to have the chairein throughout the book he wrote.  If we don’t grumble which is keeping our tongue as James tells us in the third chapter of his book, it helps us in having joy.  With trials, often it is with people who we allow to steal our joy and we grumble against them.  The people may make up an institution like they did in James day be it the Roman government or the Jewish religious order that can cause us to be unjoyful or miserable.  If we follow James teaching we can learn to count trials as pure joy and if someone is in the midst of a trial that God has chosen to let bypass us we can encourage the follow believe with words that build one up and give them joy.

Chairein.

Don’t let anyone or thing steal you joy!

 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds James 1:2

Last week in Sunday School we had a small class of 3 women and we were able to share our struggles in daily living.  Being we live in a first world country our struggles are not in having our food and basic needs met but spiritual and emotional struggles.  One fellow sojourner last Sunday morning mentioned how a customer told her “don’t let them steal your joy.”

When one is a passionate person like me, it is ease to let someone, thing or circumstance steal my joy.  Last Tuesday at work I was able to stay joyful or not let a circumstance steal my joy (for most of the day) by reminding a coworker on a regular bases, don’t let is steal your joy.  It worked.  Now to take it one step further, to live James 1:2 and consider it pure joy.  How can one does this?  For myself is started in not letting the circumstance rob my joy.  Next is to build a happy or gratitude list to remind one of the people and things to be happy and that make you smile.

Tomorrow starts a new week and to practice James 1:2 is the assignment again this week.

Chairein