The New Accounting

James was a brother of Jesus. After Jesus's resurrection, James became a believer and a leader in the church in Jerusalem. He wrote a letter to Jewish believers scattered abroad to tell them about how they can be healthy, wealthy, and comfortable. Well, he wrote the letter, but not with that message. Instead, he assured them that trials were a sure thing. So he wanted to tell them about the new method of accounting in tribulation.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Notice that he did not say "if you meet trials." Oh, no. We are assured there will be trials. Notice, also, that this wasn't presented as a suggestion. It is a command. So, here they are, holding "trials of various kinds" in hand. What are they to do with them? How do they classify them? "Let's see ... here's a healing. Count it as a blessing. Here's food to eat and a place to sleep. Count it as the grace of God. Oh, and here's a trial. Count it ... all joy." All joy?

The command seems irrational. Trials, by definition, are painful. The opposite of pleasant. Not something to be happy about. So he doesn't command them to be happy about it. But he does command that they put it in the category of joy. Happiness is a feeling of pleasure brought about by our perceptions of pleasant circumstances. Joy is a gift from God (Gal 5:22-23) and comes from a delight in God. And James is saying, "There is good reason to assign trials to the category of 'joy' because there is good reason for trials." Tribulations, he says, test your faith. That testing of your faith produces endurance. That endurance completes you. That's a good thing.

Our world tells us that true happiness is found in comfort and pleasure. That, in fact, assures us that we won't find true happiness because comfort and pleasure are fleeting. Believers have a different measure. We have true joy, a deep-seated pleasure in God that makes the process of being perfected a joyful one. It's a different method of accounting. Where the world counts trials as something to be avoided, we count trials as fuel for joy as a loving Father uses them to perfect us for His use.