Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.  Do not speak against one another, brethren.  He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it.  There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

How many of us need to hear these words?  "Do not speak against one another, brethren."

James tells his readers to mourn and weep.  He follows those statements with a call to humble ourselves.  They are to be read together.  Why would we mourn and weep?  How does that apply to humility? 

What James is suggesting is not a life of sadness, but a healthy perspective.  His audience was showing partiality (See chapter 2) and seemed to have a problem getting along.  James tells them to mourn and weep, saying that they needed to relate to each other.  To become one in the faith was the goal.  James furthers this instruction by pointing to Jesus.  He reminds us that there is only one Lawgiver, one Judge, Jesus. 

If Jesus is the only Judge, the church must realize that her purpose is not to judge, but to sympathize with the hurting.  To weep and to mourn.

"Do not speak against one another..."