LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning...

PROVERBS 30:8-9 …give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 9 lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

MATTHEW 6:19-21 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

JAMES 1:9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation

Chesterton …a paradox is truth standing on its head shouting for attention.

Hughes In my mind’s eye I see truths lined up like ridiculous people on their heads, feet waving in the air, calling, “Hey, look at me! Up is down! Down is up! Think about it.” Paradox is a powerful vehicle for truth, because it makes people think.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-31 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no…

1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-31 human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

ESV - Boast in his exaltation NASB - Glory in your high position NIV - Take pride in your high position NRSV - Boast in being raised up

JAMES 1:10-11 …and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

ESV - rich in his humiliation NASB - rich man is to glory in his humiliation NIV – The one who is rich should take pride in his low position NRSV – The rich in being brought low

JOB 14:1-2 Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. 2 He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.

PSALM 103:15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field

ISAIAH 40:6-8 A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

JAMES 4:14 …yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

1 TIMOTHY 6:17-19 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Lenski As the poor brother forgets all his earthly poverty, so the rich brother forgets all his earthly riches. By faith in Christ the two are equals.

JAMES 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Barnhouse In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and no paper money. All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into moulds and allowed to cool. When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to smooth off the uneven edges. The coins were comparatively soft and of course many people shaved them closely.

Barnhouse In one century, more than eighty laws were passed in Athens, to stop the practice of shaving down the coins then in circulation. But some money changers were men of integrity, who would accept no counterfeit money. They were men of honor who put only genuine full weighted money into circulation. Such men were called "dokimos" or "approved". 

REVELATION 2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer…Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Watson Whatever trouble in this life a child of God meets with, it is all the hell he shall ever have.