The Letter of St. James deals with the theme of consistency between faith and behaviour. The letter focuses more on moral than doctrinal matters and its style is a bit like the Jewish wisdom writings.
James 1:1-18 responds to two difficult topics in Christian living: the problem of suffering and unanswered prayers.
Regarding suffering and trial St. James wrote, “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” (Jas 1:2-4).
St. John Vianney said, “Blessed are they who are tempted! It is when the Devil sees that a soul is tending toward union with God that he redoubles his efforts.”
The saint also gave this advice: “Offer your temptations for the conversion of sinners. When the devil sees you doing this, he is beside himself with rage and makes off, because then the temptation is turned against himself.”
St. Philip Neri said that when the Lord intends to bestow a particular virtue on us, he often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice.
One of the verses for the Gospel Acclamation for the Feasts of Martyrs is from James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life.”
St. James pointed out that “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (Jas 1:14). People often blame others for their temptations. A monk blamed the devil for his troubles, to St. Poemen said, “It is always the devil who is blamed. I say it is self-will.”
Gerald Bray, editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, wrote, “To the Fathers, the cure for temptation was patient endurance, which was the fruit of a spiritual wisdom that could be obtained only from God. There was no problem with obtaining this, as long as believers asked God for wisdom in faith, without doubting that they would receive it. Doubt and riches appear as the greatest enemies of true faith because in their different ways, they both contributed to human pride and arrogance.”
Regarding prayer, St. James wrote, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (Jas 1:6).
Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture states that “doubt” refers to “being undecided between alternatives and here describes someone whose fundamental allegiance is not firmly fixed. It refers to a person who has not come to a firm, interior decision to trust in God’s character and promises. James compares such a person to a sea wave driven and tossed about by the wind. The passive verbs indicate that the doubter is moved and persuaded by exterior forces because he or she is not steadied by inner convictions.”
In Chapter 1, Verse 8, St. James said that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Such a person wants to follow two roads at the same time: the way of Christian faith and the way of the world. Such a person is divided. Unwilling to put all his trust in God, he is easily swayed from living as a Christian by disordered desires or false teachings.
St. Teresa of Calcutta said, “Where there is great love, there are always great miracles.” The saints placed all their trust in God and God did marvellous things through them. St. John Bosco was to care for a large number of boys with little resources. Each time his assistants told him about urgent financial problems he would say, “God will provide.” And each time, the saint was correct! Regarding her institutes for orphans and the poor, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini said, “I have started houses with no more than the price of a loaf of bread and prayers, for with him who comforts me, I can do all things.”
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信徒憑著信心祈求智慧
聖雅各伯書信涉及信仰與行為之間一致的主題。這封信更側重於道德問題多於教義問題，其風格有點像猶太智慧著作。
雅各伯書1：1-18回應了基督徒生活中的兩個困難話題：苦難問題和未得到回應的禱告。
關於痛苦和試探，聖雅各伯寫道：『我的弟兄們，幾時你們落在各種試探裏，要認為是大喜樂， 因為你們應知道：你們的信德受過考驗，纔能生出堅忍。但這堅忍又必須有完美的實行，好使你們既成全而又完備，毫無缺欠。』(雅1:2-4)
聖若翰、維雅納說：『受試探的人有福了！當魔鬼看到一個靈魂趨向於與天主結合時，他就會加倍努力。』聖人也給出了這樣的建議：『把對你的誘惑奉獻給罪人的轉變。當魔鬼看到你這樣做時，他會失控，憤怒地離開，因為這誘惑就會轉向與它自己作對。』
聖斐理·乃立說，當主打算賜給我們一種特殊的美德時，他經常允許我們首先受到相反的惡習的誘惑。
其中一篇殉道者瞻禮的福音前歡呼是來自雅各伯書1:12 『忍受試探的人是有福的，因為他既經得起考驗，必能得到主向愛他的人，所預許的生命之冠。』
聖雅各伯指出：『每個人受誘惑，都是為自己的私慾所勾引，所餌誘。』（雅1:14）人們經常將誘惑歸咎於他人。一位隱修士將他的麻煩歸咎於魔鬼，聖伯曼說：『被指責的總是魔鬼。我說這是自我意志。』
《古代基督徒聖經註釋》的編輯, 杰拉爾德·布雷說：『對教父們來說，治療誘惑的方法是耐心的忍耐，這是只有從天主那裡才能獲得屬靈智慧的果實。獲得這個是沒有問題的，只要信徒向天主祈求信仰的智慧，毫無疑問地他們會得到的。懷疑和財富似乎是真正信仰的最大敵人，因為它們都以不同的方式助長了人類的驕傲和傲慢。』
有關祈禱，聖雅各伯寫道：『不過，祈求時要有信心，決不可懷疑，因為懷疑的人，就像海裏的波濤，被風吹動，翻騰不已。』(雅1:6) 《天主教聖經註釋》說：『懷疑』是指『在各種選擇之間猶豫不決，這裡描述的是一個人的基本忠誠度尚未堅定。它指的是一個人沒有做出堅定的、內在的決定來相信天主的品格和承諾。雅各伯把這樣的人比作被風吹拂和翻騰的海浪。這詞彙表示懷疑者被外在力量所感動和說服，因為他沒有被內在的信念所穩定。』
聖雅各伯說三心兩意的人，在他一切的行徑上，易變無定。 （雅1:8）。這樣的人想同時走兩條路：基督信仰的道路和世俗的道路。這樣的人是分裂的。他不願意完全信靠天主，很容易被鍇亂的慾望或錯誤的教導所動搖，無法過基督徒的生活。
加爾各答的聖德蘭說：『哪裡有大的愛，哪裡總有大的奇跡』。聖人們把他們所有的信靠都放在天主身上，天主通過他們做了奇妙的事情。聖若望·鮑斯高要照顧很多孩童，但資源匱乏。每當他的助手告訴他緊急的財務問題時，他都會說：『天主會供應的』。而每次這聖人都是正確的！關於她的孤兒和窮人研究所，聖女方濟·沙勿略卡布里尼說：『我開始建造房屋時，只不過有一條麵包價格的錢和祈禱，因為有安慰我的祂，我可以做所有的事情。』
