Girls Gone Bible - Is Being Rich a Sin? | Girls Gone Bible

Episode Date: September 4, 2026

hi ggb :) today we're getting into James 1:9–12 and the reminder that our identity is not found in our circumstances, status, success, or what the world says makes us valuable, it's found in Christ. We talk about what it looks like to stay faithful through every season, especially when life feels uncertain or when your faith is being tested. James reminds us that so much of what the world values is temporary, but the person who remains steadfast under trial is blessed. This episode is about enduring the test, keeping your eyes on Jesus, and trusting that God sees your faithfulness even when no one else does. Whether you're in a season of abundance, waiting, pressure, or change, the call is the same: stay rooted in Him. God is doing something in the endurance too. this is such a good episode we love you so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari ORDER OUR BOOK! You can order our book "Out of the Wilderness- 31 Devotions to Walk with God Through Your Hardest Seasons" at https://www.girlsgonebible.com/book COME SEE US ON TOUR: Tickets for our tour are now on sale. Go to https://www.GirlsGoneBible.com/tour Thanks to our sponsors! VeryVery Good Tea — https://veryverygoodtea.com  Use code GGB for $5 off your first purchase.  BetterHelp — https://BetterHelp.com/GIRLSGONEBIBLE  Get 10% off. Dose —  https://dosedaily.co/GGB  Use code GGB for 35% off your first month of subscription.  Grand Canyon University — https://www.gcu.edu/ Find your purpose at GCU.  Quo — https://www.quo.com/GGB Try Quo for free + get 20% off your first 6 months.  Puori — https://puori.com/GGB  Use code GGB for 32% off your first order of Grass-Fed Whey Protein when you start a subscription, plus a free premium shaker with your first subscription order.

Can I hold that? Yeah. Guys, this cross is from Pastor Michael Cullianos. He's our cousin, by the way. He is our cousin. We love you, because he blessed this cross and gave it to me, and he's going to give you one too next time. And actually, Darren got me, gave me this Bible? Bible, yeah.

These guys, these men of God, huh? Do you feel like, I don't know, covered when you hold that? Oh, I mean, yeah. Are you sleeping with it? Like, I sleep with my blankie? No, I haven't slept with it, but I bring it on every stage that I've been on. I know. I saw that.

It's so cute. I have to. Now, like, with this Bible and this. It just feels comforting. Yeah. Do you think I could bring my blankie on stage? Why don't you? At our last two shows.

I'm going to wear it as like a veal. I'll be walking down the aisle with my blanket on my head as a veal. Oh my gosh. Wait. Can you imagine? Can you see it? What's up, bud? No, you what's up.

You what's up? Okay. Is that beaten people? I'm going to start. I know, you're going to hit people who go to it. Ah! Every time. Every time someone gets...

I can see it. Every time someone hurts my feelings. You're going to put that thing in their face. I see it now. Anyways, no, I'm pointing this at you because you went to Mexico. I went to Mexico. You went to Mexico? You went to Mexico?

which, by the way, we're on a Spanish kick. We're on like a Latin kick between last week. We'll talk about that later. But how the heck was Mexico? Did you learn Spanish? You looked so cute. You're so, you're something else. Am I?

Yes. Everything you put on your body is so cute. You know, I got every single one of those outfits were no more than $7. T.J. Max? Hey. And Amazon. Hey. What a other?

Seven box. Seven bocaroos. That is crazy. I've been shopping at Marshalls a lot recently. It's so East Coast to me, but I got this shirt at Marshalls when I was home every single day. My thing was to go to Marshalls and just... See what you can find. Scroll.

I love it. Find some good deals. Okay. How was Mexico? You went to Cabo? It was amazing. And there is just something about being by the water that you just, feel Jesus so much. It was so beautiful. And the hospitality in Mexico was unmatched. Talk about it,

because it's so different. I, there's something about Spanish people. They have an empathy and a gratitude that is like no other. Yeah. And I kept, it like taught me so much. Like, I kept looking at them and I'm like, when you look at people that have so much empathy and they're so kind, you literally can see Jesus. Yeah. And I don't know. I just think I've always gotten along so well with people like South American people, foreign people. You get along so well with foreign people. Yeah, because I think when you don't grow up privilege, you just carry just such a hospitality. Hospitality empathy that is just makes you think I'm so glad I grew up like this.

Like I was looking at them and they just, they were so kind. It was so nice. And I just love being by the water. It was so beautiful. And it really just was a soul reset for me. Yeah. I feel so refreshed. I needed that. Yeah, 100%. That's your first vacation in a long time. Yeah. When was the last time we traveled and didn't have to work? It's been a long time. I'm really happy for you genuinely. Thanks, bud. You're welcome. How was your week? Good. I don't remember anything. I did you rest at all? Oh, so I don't have it on, but if you watch my Instagram story, wait, really quick, I want to go back to hospitality has to be the most underrated.

I'm going to put this over here because I will use it as a prop. Hospitality is the most underrated thing. Like generosity, hospitality, being a part, like, but it is in other cultures. And there are so many Americans, literally you, you grew up here, too. Yeah. But like, you are from here. you're American and you have that same thing. I think it is like maybe an East Coast thing as well.

Yeah. But like in other places in the world, hospitality is the most important thing. Like if someone comes into your home, if they even come into your country, like you host them, you care for them, you put yourself out for them. And I just think it's like the best way to be. Yeah. No. And I've even like I've been to Hawaii.

There is no hospitality like in my school. Spanish people. They're just the most amazing. amazing people. I have such a connection to them. And I met an iguana and his name was Carlos. And I fell in love with them and I fed him every day. Did you name him Carlos? No, his name was Carlos and he lives in this little rock at the resort. The same rock? And I fell in love with them. Oh my gosh. I felt love with a reptile. Is an iguana like a lizard? Yeah. Is just a big lizard? He was so cute.

Carlos the iguana. Can we post a photo of Carlos the iguana? Wait, I love that. Would you be scared of iguanas? I don't know what it is. On iguana? Like the big lizard that I posted on my story? Oh, no, I don't think I'd be scared. Shake a little iguana.

You're going to lose the iguana. The iguana is going to be upside down on your ceiling. And I don't know what we're going to do. But I'm like, how am I? So deathly afraid of spiders, but I could literally sleep with an iguana. What if you have a son one day and he says, mom, I want to get a pet tarantula. I would say.

You would slap that kid. I would slap him right in the head. I can't even hear that word. Okay, sorry. I actually like it. It is a hairy word. Okay, anyways, I love this full circle moment. I love Latin people.

And so do you. And that's why we are Girls Gone Bibli. So we're going to take Girls Gone Bible to South America because it's time. It is time. I mean, they're the most passionate people in the, We would never have to tone down our personalities there. I'll tell you that much. No, we wouldn't.

No, no. Can I tell you one more thing I noticed about when I was just had time to rest my soul? And I was looking at the waves. Isn't it crazy how the waves just obey Jesus? That is really cute. No, like I get to say it. I was like, look at how the waves obey him. Yeah.

Like we should be able to obey him. They come up just enough and then they go back up. Yeah, and they don't even think about it. They just go with the flow. They go with God's original design. And then they go back out. Yeah. Listen, I want to feel like the way.

It's just so hard. Anyways, that's really beautiful. Welcome to Girls Gone Bibli. I'm Angela. I'm Ariel. And this is Girls Gone Beblet. And we, what's the intro again? We love Jesus so much.

All things, spirituality, mental health, the Bible. We love you guys. We love Jesus. We're so happy to be. be with you. I literally, I got an aura ring. Oh, tell me about it. Should I get one of those things? I don't honestly think it's necessary. Do you wear it on your, no, I wear it on my finger, but I had to charge it because it had no battery. Okay. But the aura ring is cute. It's, it's fun. I don't actually think it's that necessary. I don't really know if it's telling me anything that I. I think it's accurate.

No, it's accurate for sure, but I just don't really know. if it's worth it, like it tells me if I got a good or bad night's sleep, but that doesn't change. Well, it does change because you can look at that and be like, okay, I'm waking up. I mean, it would, can you imagine how many times it would show me waking up having to use the restroom? Then you should get it because it does tell you how many times you wake up. I don't wake up one time in the night. You don't? No.

You don't pee at all? No, I don't wake up at all. So the first day that I got it, it said that I didn't get enough sleep. And then the next day, I got really good sleep. And then the next night, I slept 13. No, I slept 11 and a half hours. I am an Olympian sleeper. I can sleep.

You actually are. I can sleep. You can sleep. I'll sleep until noon. You actually, you can't. You can't. You're up at that crack of dawn. I'm at early.

I'm up at 5 a.m. now. Now it's 5. 5. Now it's 5. You okay? Do you feel good? It's a loaded question. I'm just such an early.

board. Like, I have so much energy in the morning. Yeah, you do. But, but I crash at about five is my cut off. I just feel best when I wake up at like, eight is fine. But like the days go fly by. You don't have enough time. No, I know. They do all my work at night. Not really. You're done by six. I'm done by six, but I can't work during the day. I do any work that I need to do at midnight the night before that it's due without, you. What time do you usually go to sleep at? Um, I was in bed at 9.30 yesterday, which is crazy for me. No, I'll, I typically, you're like a midnighter, right? Yeah. 11, usually 12.

Recently I've been trying to go to bed more early, more early, earlier. Okay, there's something I wanted us to do. Okay, is it a game? Kind of. Get your phone. Okay. Go to Safari and, and, you know, ask, I'm going to ask what happened on February 4th in Florida. And you're going to say what happened

on November 9th in Florida. Okay. Okay. This is kind of sad. No, hang on. This is supposed to be funnier. One second. Do you want me to go first? Yeah, what is your say? On November 9th, a Florida man in Dixie County was pulled over by deputies and found storing a live three-foot alligator in a burlap sack inside of a vehicle's trunk. Exactly. Mine is a little, like, sad. Yours was about ISIS, something like that. You should hang that thing.

I have crosses all over my house. Crucifixes all over my house. All right, bud. All right, bud. We are going through the book of James. Not Hamas. Santiago. San Diego.

No. What? Santiago. That's how you say James. Oh my gosh. Crazy. How do you say Ariel in Spanish? Ariel.

How do you say Angel in Spanish? Anhella. Yeah. I'm going to, okay. I'm going to, okay. Let me see. I'm learning Spanish and I love it. I'm learning

I'm learning Spanish and I love it. All right, guys, we're reading through the book of James. As you know, we started last week. We did James chapter one verse one through eight. Now we are starting. We're actually going to go through three verses today. And I have notes, honey, for just three verses. Because I just feel like this little section, just three verses, is actually such

a rich section. Yeah. And I think we need to make sure that we don't think of this as like a random little interruption about money. James in verses 1 through 8 was talking about trials and he's actually still talking about trials. And I love that we're going to go through just this little section to really understand what James is saying. And Ari and I talk about this a lot about how our circumstances can change, our situation can change, our status can change, our financial situation can change, your career can change, your relationship status can change, and your job is to remain faithful to Jesus through it all. And it's so difficult when everything in your life gets interrupted and uprooted to stay faithful, to stay faith filled. But I think James makes such a good

point in these three verses about identity and what happens when you're a person whose identity is truly rooted in Jesus and not in these different statuses that we're talking about. I think Ari and I can both say that we've both for sure throughout our lives put our identity in everything other than Jesus. I think even in our walks with Jesus. Story my life. Yeah. I think even in our walks with Jesus, we've still put our identities and things other than

Jesus. And it's like this constant reminder of like, hey, it's getting a little murky. the waters here. Oh, come on, come on. Look what you're doing. Look what you're doing. You're putting on the throne of my heart. Exactly.

Tire him down. So last week, James told us that the trials will come. Trials can produce perseverance. Perseverance produces. Say it again. Oh, sorry. Perseverance. Did I say it wrong?

Percederance. Oh, my gosh. Perseverance produces maturity. Ask God for, wisdom and don't be double-minded. And now James basically says, okay, now let us show you what this looks like in real life. So we read last week, James 1 versus 1 through 8. Now we're starting in verse 9 in the NIV version. Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position, but the rich should take pride in their humiliation since they will pass away like a

wildflower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. I think this is something that we all will face so much. Let's start with that verse eight of this talked about being double-minded and I think one of the things is saying that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways and I think one of the biggest things that can cause us to feel unstable is our circumstances. Tell me if you fall in victim to this because I know I have. When I'm doing well, I feel good about myself. When I'm struggling, I feel

worthless. When I have money, influence, success, opportunities, relationships, I feel secure. When people love me, I feel good. And when those things disappear, I don't know who I am anymore. These four verses in James come directly against that. And we'll talk about the first one. The first verse, verse, verse nine, believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. So in this moment, James is speaking to Christians who are socially or economically insignificant. These people don't have much in the world's eyes. And then he tells them something completely upside down because we live in a world where your status and your success and your money and your accomplishments and your marriage and the ring on your finger and the X, Y, Z and all these things

and your friend group and your popularity determines how rich. Sorry. No, it's okay. What, what? It's okay. It's okay. Do you need help? I'm sorry. It's okay. No, don't worry. Do you need help? I just got it next lock and I was trying so hard because I was sitting on my leg. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. It's okay.

And in this moment, James is telling them to boast in their high position when they have nothing. Yeah. But don't boast in the position of you being low. boast not in your earthly position, but boast in your position in Christ. The world might look at them and say, you don't have much, you aren't important, you aren't successful, you aren't powerful, you weren't beautiful. But God says, do you know who you are? You're a child of God. This is the epitome. This is where we truly receive identity. This is why comparison is such a nightmare. It's such a little demon because it causes you to look at your life horizontally instead of vertically. When you're

looking at things horizontally, of course you're going to feel poor in life. Of course you're going to feel less than. You're going to look around and say, do I have as much money as them? Am I as successful as them? Has God given me as much favor as he's given them? Do I have the marriage and the relationship that they have? Do I have? Am I as beautiful as she is? Do I have all the friends that she has? instead of looking at our lives vertically and saying genuinely, genuinely, this is not a Christian cliche, who does God say that I am? Always comparing ourselves to Scripture, submitting ourselves and our identity into Scripture and saying genuinely who does God say that I am, regardless of what my circumstances look like?

And this is the paradox of Christianity that you could say that I may be low in the world's eyes, but I'm incredibly rich in heaven's eyes. And this is the thing that I love about Jesus the most is that when we move through life with Jesus, everything is countercultural. Everything is upside down. When the world tells you one thing, Jesus says something completely different. So we're speaking to the people who think that they're not rich in life because you don't have all the things that you think you should have. You are rich in the kingdom of heaven. You are rich in eternity.

You are genuinely rich in life because you have Jesus. And we're going to get to, and this might be so easy to say as two people who, who we have some success. We have some things in life that other people might want. But James makes it really clear in the next couple of verses that the reason why you don't put your, because he'll speak to those people. He'll speak to the rich. He'll speak to the successful. He'll speak to the beautiful. But first he addresses those who look poor on this side of eternity saying that you can actually

boast because you're poor here, you have nothing to rely on except Jesus. When you're poor in these other ways, you know that you're dependent on Jesus. Remember when I came up to and I was like, Angie, like, do you feel like a little less now that where we are? Yeah. Do you remember having this conversation? Yeah. And you were like, yeah. And it's like, I, the only way to describe it is I feel even lower. Yeah. Not insecure, but I just feel like the more you see Jesus, the less you just, it's like, oh, I don't want attention.

I don't want these things. The only one that should be exalted is him. Yeah. When you said that, it just made me think of when we had that conversation. You become, I feel almost smaller now that I have a platform. Yeah. As you should, a thousand percent. And we've had so many conversations where we'll look at each other and be like, do you feel like good about yourself because of all this?

And the other one will be like embarrassed sometimes. Yeah. I think it's, I think from my perspective, what it is is like we could look at people with lots of money, huge platform, the best relationship and everything you could possibly want. And we could look at them and say, oh, it's easy for you guys to say that the poor are actually who's rich. It's so easy for you to say because you don't have to deal with that. But the truth is those people specifically are the ones who say that because they actually know what it's like. They know what it's like to gain the things that you think that are going to fulfill you and make you feel rich and you realize that they don't. And so I think that's why when you gain more status, if you have the right perspective, because there are some people who have the perspective of chase, chase, chase, never stop chasing.

They're always, they get a little bit of money or they get a little bit of success and then they're looking for that next high, that next money, that next whatever. And so for them it never ends. But when you do have a heavenly perspective, it's so humbling to be. It changes you and it humbles you and it makes you feel so dependent on Jesus because you're like, oh, yeah, everything that when you don't have anything, you think will make you feel good. And it doesn't. It's emptiness. Purpose, so important. Yeah.

Security. of course it matters in life it does that's why people go to work because you need to put food on the table what we're saying is the second you get try it for yourself you work hard and of course there's fulfillment in like working hard and whatever but when you gain certain things you reach certain statuses the reason why you become smaller is you because you realize it didn't do whatever i thought it should be doing well of course look at it i mean just take a look at hollywood yeah we've lived here we've lived here since we were kids, look at these people that get to the top, but they're so severely depressed. Yeah.

Why? Because you get to the top and you realize that it does not fulfill you. No. Yes, having money can comfort you, but will never bring you peace. No. It won't. That's why you see the most wealthiest people. They're the most unhappy and most empty.

Yeah. I remember I used to look at people. Like, I thought about the scripture when I was, younger just looking up to all these celebrities that had the wealth and the fame and I remember I used to look up to all these people and then now just after finding Jesus just realizing like you can have everything like I can almost see the emptiness inside of them yeah yeah so sad so yeah you can have everything you can you can look at people you can look at social media maybe you're comparing yourself to someone that just on the outside looks like they have the money, the cars, everything.

But let me tell you, if you do not have Jesus, you are internally poor. And that's what the scripture is talking about. And I love that it takes us to the next verse. Verse 10 says, but the rich should take pride in their humiliation since they will pass away like a wildflower. And let's be really clear here. because James turns to the person on the opposite end. You have to be so careful of Scripture because you don't want to take things the wrong way because you hear in multiple, you know, you have the beatitudes where the Lord says that, blessed are the porn spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And so you have multiple scriptures that talk about how money is the root of evil. And there's so many things like that. But God isn't necessarily saying that being rich is sinful. He's not saying, but he is attacking the illusion that being rich gives you the. the same thing that having a true relationship with Jesus does. It doesn't. And so I love that first we address the people who are poor in an earthly sense and saying you actually can boast because all you have is Jesus. And then he addresses to the person on the opposite end. The poor believer should remember how high they are in Christ and the rich believer should remember how low they are apart from Christ.

That's the point of this. He's not saying that being rich is sinful, but he's saying that wealth doesn't give you permanence, superiority, or security. The rich Christian should actually rejoice in being humbled. Like what we just talked about, the higher you go, the more you realize how dependent you are on Jesus, because it's not fulfilling you. You have this illusion when you don't have all the earthly success that, oh, if I just get there, I'll get it.

If I just have this, but until then, like, I'll just, I'll be dependent on Jesus. But then when you get there, you actually become more dependent. You should, at least, become more dependent. more dependent because you're like, oh shoot, everything when I was at the bottom that I thought was going to bring me that fulfillment isn't bringing it. So now I actually know I'm deeply humbled that nothing that I have is giving me what Jesus is giving me. Yeah. Money can't save you. Success can't save you. Your platform can't save you. Your beauty can't save you. You need Jesus as much as everybody else. And that is what is so humbling to have a platform, to have

whatever is like I wake up every day and I need Jesus just as much if not more than most people. Yeah. Yeah. And the thing is, is we chase all these things because that's what we think is going to like our achievements and fame and success. You know what I think about all this? Because I think about myself, it's so exhausting trying to keep up. It's so it's so exhausting thinking you have to have these achievements you have to keep up with the fame keep up with the beauty keep up with the sex we have to keep that it's so hard keep up with the success keep up with the success keep up with this persona and then you get to it and you realize that none of it ever matters that your true treasure

is your identity in jesus and that's why i love when he gives this illustration of this, it will pass away like a wild flower for the sun rises with the scorching heat and it withers the plant, its blossom falls, and its beauty is destroyed. Exactly. I think of my little hydrangees that I get every week that make me so happy that are so beautiful and they're so fresh and beautiful, but they fade away. Yeah. And that's what happens with the success. And that's what happens with our beauty. And that's what happens with all of this. And it fades.

You can't take it with you. Yeah. And so that's what he's saying. The only thing that remains eternal is Jesus. Yeah. And isn't that such a weight off your shoulder that you don't need to find identity and all of these things? You don't have to keep up with the rat race.

Yes. You don't. Yes. Like that takes off such a weight. I remember I felt like I was on a hamster wheel trying to keep up with Joneses. You know? And it's like you're running on empty and you're always going to come up short because it's like the scripture that says, what can profit a man when he gains the world but loses his soul? It's not worth it. We see it so much just chasing the high and you're always going to come up empty because it's never going to fulfill you.

Money isn't evil. No. I think everyone should work hard. There's nothing wrong with that. Work is holy. It's holy. It's holy. But if you're doing all this and not putting Jesus at the forefront, you're empty.

And I just think like as we're speaking, anybody who's listening who I've just sensed like a stubbornness in people. If you're listening or watching and you feel like maybe you're that person with just a little bit of stubbornness, we get it. We've been there. Let Jesus destroy that stubbornness. Let him destroy the stubbornness in you that causes you to keep trying to. to do things your own way, keep trying to think that the success in the money or whatever it is is going to be the thing that brings you whatever it is that you're looking for. It will never, it will never happen. It really won't. And it is so like Satan to sit there and feed off of

this desire, this need, probably this fear that you have of needing to create this all for yourself, needing to be successful, needing to make money, blah, blah, blah, and you put Jesus away at the bottom of the totem pole in life thinking that that's going to, but you're just in this toxic, demonic, honestly, cycle of chasing something that will never fulfill you and that like you're probably not even going to, I'm not saying it can't happen because there's so many successful people who don't know or love Jesus. But I just think if you're someone who's like kind of one foot in, one foot out and you call yourself a Christian and you say you love Jesus, I'm not saying by any means that Jesus will punish you, but you're not in alignment. You're not, if Jesus is,

isn't the one on your heart, the throne of your heart, and you're chasing all these other things, but expecting him to still bless you in those areas, I almost feel like that's kind of rewarding bad behavior. It's like you're doing everything in opposition to the way that the Lord wants you to live and then being like, okay, but bless it. It's like having sex before marriage and asking him to bless sin or disobedience. I just think like those people who are chasing, who want so badly to be successful. You have to put Jesus first. And I know that might seem trivial or whatever. Whatever you're searching for, I'm not saying that if you put Jesus first, he's then going to give you a bunch of money and make you successful. But your soul will be right. And I promise you that your soul matters so much more

than your financial situation. Because guess what? If your soul's not good, your financial situation might still say the same. Yeah. And if your soul is good, your financial situation might say the same. However, at least your soul will be whole. And in the right point, place and that you will know that you're in right standing with God. And then you actually allow the Lord to move in your life and bring you into alignment and let his will carry out in your life. How do you expect the Lord's will, whether that's in your finances or in your career or whatever it might be? How do you expect His will for your life to prevail when you're not even allowing that? When you're not putting him first, you've got to get your priorities right.

And I know for people who haven't walked it out themselves, that sounds really silly. And also it might sound, again, I'm going to acknowledge that money can be a hard situation for people. We're telling you that regardless of what anybody's financial situation is, you have to get your soul right. That matters more than anything. It genuinely does. I remember when before Girls Gone Bible, I was really struggling. Yeah. Like, I really was.

That's why it's so important. Like, maybe some of you are so in it. Like, for me, it was, I was taking care of myself, so I was in such survival mode. I felt like I needed to make more money. And so some of you, it could just be so much of your identity because you're scared. You're scared to, you're just scared. You know what it's like to be broke and you're just scared. Yeah.

But I remember, like, I was really struggling. I was really struggling when I first found Jesus, but, man, I've said this before, but the more you taste Jesus, the more the world loses its flavor. And so I just encourage anyone who is in a position where you're putting your identity into social media or your looks or your job right now. And you've just made it your whole identity and you don't really know Jesus or you've forgotten who he was. The first thing you just have to do is be honest with him. Tell him, I've made this an identity. I think about, I love this more than I love you. Like he knows, he already knows everything.

You don't have to sit in shame. Bring it to him. There's been many things even recently that I've had to bring to him that I felt like I've put on the throne of my heart. And just kind of surrendering that and opening up my hands and being honest and confessing it to people has truly lost its power and it's helped me. heal from making things my identity. And yeah, I'll just, I'll just say it again. It's none of these things as comforting as it might feel. They never last. It always fades. Yeah. You can't bring it with you.

Everything in this life is temporary. And the most important thing is your relationship with Jesus. So if we're getting up and we're on the hustle, even being in Mexico, I just saw how. slow pace, how they enjoy, how they, you know, they're with their families. And we're just, America is such a fast pace. Um, make it hustle, hustle, hustle. And your relationship with Jesus is the most important thing. I love what they say in this about the poor are rich. Yeah. Because I remember what I used to look up to. And I used to look up to all of these celebrities. And now it's like, I look up to the woman who sits in the, the back of the church who has little to nothing, but she's like a prayer warrior, the woman who's

beat cancer five times and she's never lost her faith. Like these are the people that we should be looking up to. These are the people that we should be, even in community with, I have a mentor, and she's sat in the back of the church. She's beat cancer five times and she never shook her faith. And I just like, I love that. I even look at people. people sometimes that have nothing, but their faith is so strong. And it truly, that's, when I think of when they face Jesus at the end of their life, they're going to be rich because they're going to go with him. This life is so fleeting. It literally goes like that. It fades away. We're here today, gone tomorrow. And so that's something to really start to meditate on and think

about for those who are making their identity and not spending time with Jesus. We live in such a hustle, bustle world where we get up, we go to work, we do this, we do this, but we never consider Jesus. We, you know what I mean? We're just always trying. And I know that can sometimes be hard when you have like a high pressure job and you really want to make money and you want to make it and all these things. You forget Jesus and then your identity can become this. Maybe some of you are in my position right now where everything got taken away from you and you think you're being punished. And let me just tell you that's the exact place where you will find the love of Jesus, where he will do his best work. And if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't realize that everything that I thought was valuable was

nothing. It meant nothing to me. The fame, the success, the expensive things, that all this stuff, it means nothing. It truly, you can't take it with you. The only thing you can take is Jesus. So fight to the nail for your relationship with him. is the truly only thing that matters. And then when you find your relationship with Jesus, you realize, oh my gosh, all of this was so stressful to try to keep up with it. You can't keep up with it. No, no, you can't. And I love that so much. And I, you know what? I want to say something about money and generosity and resources. And here's a thing about following Jesus. You love Jesus. You love people. Your faith is not for you alone. Your faith is not for you to live out by yourself.

Your faith compels you to live a certain way. And I think generosity means so much to both you and I in a world where everybody's basically Instagram famous. It feels like to some extent, everybody has influence. Everybody has, it feels like some sort of a platform, whatever it might be. Like if you have a platform, everything that you have, it's not yours. Like, it's literally not for you. And I'm not saying you can't benefit off of it or enjoy it a little bit. That's not what I'm saying. But everything that God has blessed you with is meant to benefit other people's lives.

And we are meant to live so open-handed as true believers. If you're sitting here and you have a platform and you have money and you have all this stuff and you're not making other people's lives better or easier some way or another, you have gotten it wrong. Like, yes, the secret place is so important, so important, spending hours with Jesus, being in the word, praying, all that stuff. And the next step is that whatever you are getting when you're seeking the Lord has to then be expressed outwardly in helping other people, making other people's lives easier. if you have a platform, give it away. If you have followers, give it away. If God has given you favor, use that favor to make someone else's life easier or like give that favor to someone else. Encourage someone else. Build up someone else. Don't use it all for yourself. Build up other people.

If you are a leader, build up more leaders. If you have influence, give away your influence to people that you trust. If you have money, whatever it might be, whether it's $100 in your bank account or $100,000 in your bank account, you should be some way or another making other people's lives easier. And I believe that no matter how little money, forget tithing. Tiving is a given. We should all, it's a command to tithe 10% of your income. We're not even going to go there. On top of that, living a generous lifestyle where you are giving sacrificially matters so much.

I saw this post earlier that was like, we look for these big ministry opportunities, big ministry moments and these like massive stage like moments when in reality like the biggest ministry moments are just loving one person well. Taking one person who can do nothing for you. They can't give you money. They can't give you influence. They can't make you popular. They can't do. They can't give you opportunities. Taking that person seeing a need and then meeting it.

it be money or any type of resource that you might have. That's what true ministry is, is loving people, and it doesn't have to be a million people. It can just be one, choosing one person, hey, I'm going to make this person's life a little bit better. Yeah. That's the one thing I always say. We are just stewards over the money. Everything we have is the Lord's, and we're just stewards over it. Yeah. And scripture says the least you do for these brothers and sisters you're doing to me. So what we're not giving, we are literally doing to God. Yeah. We're withholding from him. Yes. Yeah. That's the core of his mission is to help his people. Okay. And then in verse 12, James comes back to the trial language. This echoes the biblical idea of someone being deeply favored or flourishing before God. But notice that James doesn't say, blessed is the purpose. person who never experiences trials. And this is something that I get wrong all the time. You guys,

I think this past year, I have gained so much wisdom in my relationship with the Lord that like, just because things are hard doesn't mean he's not in it. It doesn't mean that he's not near. I think that's what this last year has taught me the most. But he never, James doesn't say blessed is the person who never experiences trials. He says, blessed is the person who remains steadfast. through them. You are blessed, not because you have no trials. If you are someone who's never had a trial, put in the comments, we want to know who the special person is that has never had a trial because everybody has. But you are blessed if you can remain steadfast through the trial. What do you think that means are?

Oh, no. What do you think that means, bro? Steadfast, remember, means staying faithful and enduring instead of giving up. Stood the test means your faith has been tested and proven genuine. Yeah. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because having stood the test, the person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. And the crown of life means the eternal life God promised to those who love him.

Sweet crown of life. So my version says perseveres. Bless is the one who perseveres under trial. Another version like we're talking about says steadfast, remain steadfast. And this is the heart of the passage. It doesn't say blesses the person who never cries, never struggles, never questions, never gets tired. It means that you stay. You remain.

You abide. You keep trusting. You keep coming back. You keep praying. You keep obeying. You keep loving Jesus. and you don't abandon God because life didn't go the way you expect it. And when we say this, just know that you are not to be condemned if this doesn't come naturally.

This is something you walk out with Jesus because we know what it's like to have your whole world turned upside down and then go, is God even here if he would allow this to happen? This is something that you genuinely have to work out. So the point is that you don't, it's not that. you never doubt. It's not that you never struggle. It's not even that you never get angry with God. But it's that even in your confusion, your doubt, your pain, you continuously come back to the things you did at first. You show up to pray when you don't want to. You show up to read the Bible when you don't want to. You show up to worship even when you don't feel like it. Faithfulness is refusing to walk away. And I wrote this down. I love this. Peter struggled. David struggled.

is struggled, Job struggled. The Psalms are full of struggling. The goal isn't to become emotionally untouched by pain. That will never happen. Someone will be set free, including myself, to hear, I have asked Jesus so many times, why can't you just make it that I don't get affected anymore? Why can't you just make it that I don't feel these things anymore? Because the goal isn't to become emotionally untouched by pain. The goal is to become spiritually anchored inside of it. Well, that's what it is. It anchors you. Yes. It anchors you. I think of just who I am today. And it's because I just, like I talk about it a lot, but like these moments in my house where I just stayed and I laid and I cried and I wept and I just felt it all with Jesus. And I endured it. And I didn't throw the towel in. And I'm and I just, I can't believe what he did through that. I mean, he changed. Oh man, he changed me. He really did. He changed me as a woman. And it's worth every single thing that you've been through. It is. It's a blessing. We were blessed really is the person. Yeah. That perseveres under trial. Yeah. Like that is such a. Yeah. That doesn't mean that it's not hard. It doesn't mean that you don't get like hit by some arrows and hit by some bowels. it just means that you don't deconstruct and lose your faith. It means that you don't turn

not perfectly because I know that I've many a times in a bad moment not been faithful to Jesus. But like it means that you don't fully abandon him. You don't fully abandon the mission. You don't fully abandon the love that you know he has for you. It means that through it all, you simply come back. Yeah, so many, when I ask why some, I'm like, I'll ask people, what do you believe? And I hear a lot of people say, well, I went through this and there's no way there's a God if I went through that. Yeah. And so so many people turn away when they're under a trial and something bad happens and they go the other way and they don't stay. Yeah. Yeah. And I know that temptation. I know the temptation when you hit a place of confusion. and fear and anger with Jesus and just like, what is this? Like literally what is this? When that happens, the temptation to simply say, I don't know about all this. I don't know about, I mean, I can't imagine how many people, Christians, leaders, I have talked to so many leaders in the faith who have had moments of being like when their hearts are so full of disappointment and just like pain and

just what the heck is going on, it is so easy for even the most faithful leaders to go, I don't know. I don't know about all this. Is this really all true if my life looks this bad? And if we've learned anything in the world, it's thank you, Jesus. If you see to the other side, let the Lord take you through the trial and give yourself enough time and enough space to heal so that you can look in hindsight and see from God's perspective what happened. You won't be able to see in the middle of it. And you also won't be

able to see it if you abandon ship completely. Just wait. Just wait. You are strong enough to continue showing up even when you're miserable. You're strong enough to keep showing up even when you're mad at God. Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you, to keep you to have mercy on you and keep showing up until you get to the other side of it. And I'm not saying that all the pain is going to be gone. I'm not going to say that you're going to look at the situation like, oh, I'm so happy that that happened, even though it was so awful. But you will be able to eventually turn around and say, okay, I see what he was doing there. And I can be grateful for the goodness that was produced in it. Because I promise you, every bad situation you've been in there is something good that came out of it.

There is something that you learned. And there is a way in which you became more like Jesus if you allow him to do that for you. and there will also be spiritual formation that takes place in the suffering if you just wait until the other side. And if I can encourage you to do anything, part of steadfastness and faith is just getting up, washing your face, pushing yourself to church, pushing yourself to introduce yourself to somebody, pushing yourself to just call a friend, even if you don't have a friend, pushing yourself to get out there because it's people that heal. And I know we talk about that all the time,

but I feel like someone really needs to hear this. Get out of isolation. Get out of isolation. Because part of your trial and steadfastness is being around other people who can help you through it, who can help you through the trial, who can hold up your arms when you don't have faith, who can remind you who Jesus is.

Because sometimes when we're in the middle of hell, it's really hard to make it through. It's really hard to sit. And so we need each other because people heal. We heal each other. Jesus uses people to heal. And so push yourself, even if it's literally one day you just wash your face. You should be proud of yourself.

It was like I was walking inch by inch by inch. But I remember through my journey, one day it was washing my face. The next it was just putting on clothes. The next it was getting in my car. And then the next was asking people to pray for me and going to church by myself. And so when you take those little baby steps, you'll realize that you're like miles ahead. Miles.

And it's like you're healing little by little every single day. A hundred percent. I love what you just said. You take little steps and then eventually you go, oh my gosh, you turn around and you go, I'm a mile from where I was. Yeah. Praise Jesus for being a mile out. Yeah.

The last little thing that I'll say, I hate being uncomfortable. If already ever says anything to me, it is get comfortable, being uncomfortable. And I'm like, I'm going to punch you. You say that to me. I hate when you say that. But it's so true. But the perspective has to change. You have to stop asking,

how do I make every uncomfortable thing stop? Story of my freaking life. You have to ask, how do I remain faithful all the way to the end? How do I truly, through everything that happens, everything that's thrown at me? How do I end my life saying, I believe wholeheartedly in the end?

the death, the burial, the resurrection, the ascension of Jesus Christ. I believe in the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. I put all my trust in him alone. I truly believe that Jesus is Lord and I allow my life to reflect that, not perfectly. But faithfully, for sure. That is the whole point of the Christian walk that we get to the end and say, I ran my race and I stayed faithful even when it was hard, even when I doubt it, even when it didn't make sense.

I stood on the gospel of Jesus Christ and I ended that way because I promise you through your life there are going to be so many things that try to steal your faith. There are going to be so many things that try to get you to throw in the towel and say, I don't even believe in this. There are going to be seasons that nothing even happens, but for some reason there's a hardness and a numbness that creeps into your heart that causes you to say nothing big even happened. I just don't really believe anymore. It is the fight of your life empowered by the Holy Spirit, supported by Jesus,

but the fight that you have to fight with Jesus to stay running the race until your very last breath and you die saying, I stood ten toes down for the gospel of Jesus Christ. So these four verses, don't let lack define you. Don't let abundance deceive you. Don't let the trial move you. And remember where this is all going. eternity with Jesus. Who cares? About anything? Who cares? Nothing matters. I'll look at people sometimes and it'll be like, don't you know that this life is going to end? No, literally.

Sometimes I'm, sometimes I hear myself talking. I'm like, shot, ah. I'm like, who cares? No, me too, me too. Literally, who cares? Like, you think you're going to be thinking about this? Yeah. In heaven, probably. I'll probably take it there. Anyways, we love you guys so much. We bless you in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus. Angela, with their freaking cross. Aye, done.

I, we love you guys so much. May the Lord bless you. That's weird. Okay, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn his face towards you and give you peace. Shalom, shalom. Next time, will you say it in Spanish?

Can I say it right now? Yeah, yeah, yeah. What do I say? Say number six blessing in Spanish. Number six blessing in Spanish. Yeah. Yeah, al-Sinot, the bengenga, the quarantine, that aga, represent you.

Okay. Never mind. Yeah, that was really good. Love you.