James 1:9 English Standard Version (ESV) Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,

James 1:9 King James Version (KJV) Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

James 1:9 New American Standard Bible (NASB) Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;

I promised a dear brother in the Lord that I would visit the issue of exaltation, and here I have shown three different results for the same passage. The ESV uses the word only once. The KJV does not use it anywhere and while the NASB uses it twice it was not used in James 1:9.

Looking at the choices in wording around boast, rejoice and glory then the issue of our reactions to being exalted is more important than the fact that our circumstance have been changed. We were dead in our sins, we are now alive in Christ. Our witness to the lost isn’t visible in the exaltation it is visible in our expressions of our change.

Glory is a powerful expression of change because it is Christ shining forth from us. That is not who we are it is where we are in our present circumstance. Boast sounds like ego, which it should not. Rejoice is a celebration of this change but it does not always indicate why. Glory is the closest affirmation of condition because it is Christ Himself that is seen and we are not responsible for the ability of the lost to see Christ. He reveals Himself in us because we have been lifted up and our circumstances changed.

If we look at exaltation as an issue of a condition of the gifts, we mistakenly view popularity, charisma, and talent as goals to be achieved. We need to rely on Christ to change our circumstances according to His will in order to be used in ways of His choosing and not our own.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 English Standard Version

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
¹⁰ “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind,^[kidneys] to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

While reading today’s daily verse in the ESV my mind translated sick into wicked. My earliest bible readings were in the KJV and the KJV uses wicked in place of sick. I consider this a matter of those things I have taken to heart and changes in my heart take priority over mind function.

Notice where the ESV translates the Hebrew word meaning kidneys into mind. Here is where I derive my title for today, output. Given that the kidneys are responsible for purifying the blood, testing the urine allows us to see if the kidneys are functioning properly and if there are any infections.

A testing of the mind does not render any reliable lab results. It is quite useless to us but we must keep in mind that it is the Lord performing the testing and not we ourselves. The output of the mind can be examined in our words and actions, our ways.

The Lord doing the testing will write the prescription for the heart that is sick. The heart once healed of its infectious disease will actively produce a better lab result for the mind. Our output will begin to render better results because of the change of heart.

Our western culture places the importance on knowledge of the mind and ignore the knowledge of the heart. Even Jesus quoting the greatest command places the order of importance as “Love the Lord thy God with all your heart…” The order indicates priority. Heart first and then the mind will follow.

A renewing of the mind can only take place if we take the Word of God to heart and heal it first.