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From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion.
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My brothers, consider it a great joy when trials of many kinds come upon you,
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for you well know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and
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perseverance must complete its work so that you will become fully developed, complete, not deficient in any way.
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Any of you who lacks wisdom must ask God, who gives to all generously and without scolding; it will be given.
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But the prayer must be made with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea by the buffeting of the wind.
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That sort of person, in two minds,
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inconsistent in every activity, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
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It is right that the brother in humble circumstances should glory in being lifted up,
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and the rich in being brought low. For the rich will last no longer than the wild flower;
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the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, its flower falls, its beauty is lost. It is the same with the rich: in the middle of a busy life, the rich will wither.
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Blessed is anyone who perseveres when trials come. Such a person is of proven worth and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
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Never, when you are being put to the test, say, 'God is tempting me'; God cannot be tempted by evil, and he does not put anybody to the test .
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Everyone is put to the test by being attracted and seduced by that person's own wrong desire.
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Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin reaches full growth, it gives birth to death.
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Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers:
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all that is good, all that is perfect, is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow caused by change.
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By his own choice he gave birth to us by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all his creation.
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Remember this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to human anger;
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God's saving justice is never served by human anger;
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so do away with all impurities and remnants of evil. Humbly welcome the Word which has been planted in you and can save your souls.
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But you must do what the Word tells you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves.
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Anyone who listens to the Word and takes no action is like someone who looks at his own features in a mirror and,
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once he has seen what he looks like, goes off and immediately forgets it.
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But anyone who looks steadily at the perfect law of freedom and keeps to it -- not listening and forgetting, but putting it into practice -- will be blessed in every undertaking.
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Nobody who fails to keep a tight rein on the tongue can claim to be religious; this is mere self-deception; that person's religion is worthless.
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Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father, is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows in their hardships, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.
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