James 1

James greets “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” and plunges in: “Count it all joy... when you meet trials of various kinds,” for the testing of faith produces steadfastness, which leads to maturity. Those lacking wisdom should “ask God, who gives generously to all,” but must “ask in faith, with no doubting.” The lowly are to boast in their exaltation and the rich in their humiliation, for riches fade; and “blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial,” who will receive “the crown of life.” Temptation comes not from God, who gives only “good” gifts, but from our own desire. Believers are to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,” and above all to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only,” like a man who looks in a mirror. “Pure and undefiled religion” is “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”