James 2:5 KJV
[5] “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”
Our verse today can be easily misinterpreted. First, allow me to address what it is not saying. It is not teaching us that God has chosen the poor to be saved and the rich to be lost. Zacchaeus was saved, and Luke 19:2 says he was rich. Salvation has nothing to do with the riches of this world. It is based only on the work of our Savior on the Cross.
You see, a man can be poor in this world and rich in the next world. He can also be poor in this world and poor in the next. The same is true about a rich man. He can be rich in this world and rich in the next, or he can be rich in this world and poor in the next. It proves that neither riches nor poverty has anything to do with salvation.
However, there is a tremendous truth in our text. The Lord has not excluded the poor from His field of service. He is not like the partial usher in this chapter who elevates one man above another man because of his financial status. The Lord has chosen to use men who were poor in this world to show His mighty power! Moses was a poor man that God used to lead His people out of bondage. The Lord chose David to be King over His people, yet he was a lowly shepherd boy when anointed. Almost all of the apostles came from a poor backgrounds.
The truth is that we should never underestimate the poor. God chooses them just like He does the rich in this world. The poor man has a place at God’s table alongside the wealthy. Remember, if you are poor in this world, but you are saved, then you will be rich in the next world. Salvation holds riches that are beyond the riches of this world!