James 1 (NMV)
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face various kinds of trials,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance complete its work, so that you may be mature and whole, lacking nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let them ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to them.
6 But let them ask in confident faith, without doubting, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
8 They are double-minded and unstable in all they do.
9 Let the believer who is poor take pride in their high position,
10 but the rich should take pride in their low position, because they will pass away like a wildflower in the field.
11 For the sun rises with burning heat and dries up the grass, its flower falls, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich person will fade away in the midst of their pursuits.
12 Blessed is the one who endures under trial, because when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 No one being tempted should say, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself tempts no one.
14 But each person is tempted when they are drawn away and lured by their own desire.
15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters.
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
18 By His own will He gave us birth through the word of truth, so that we might be a kind of firstfruits among His creation.
19 Know this, my beloved brothers and sisters: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry,
20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
21 So get rid of all moral filth and the excess of evil, and humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your lives.
22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
23 Because if someone hears the word but does not act on it, they are like a person looking at their face in a mirror,
24 and after looking at themselves, they go away and immediately forget what they looked like.
25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and continues in it, not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it, they will be blessed in what they do.
26 If anyone thinks they are religious but does not control their tongue, they deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.