A popular comedian once said 'If money
talks, all it ever says to me is good-bye!'
Feels like that sometimes doesn't it?
Every time you turn around and money seems to be disappearing from
your bank account. Well, that was not the case for the people that
James was writing to in our verses this morning.
James 5:1
“5 Come now, you rich
people! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you.”
This specific group of rich people were
getting some bad news. The people James was addressing were those who
were arrogant and trusted the things of the world more than anything
else. They were confident, they had gold, jewels, the nicest cloaks
and robes, and had plenty of crops stored up. They were set, they did
not need anything, they thought they were in control.
James is telling them when all is said
and done you are going to want to crawl into a corner, curl up into a
ball, and cry. You think the world revolves around you and your
money, it is time to wake up. The wealth you love so much is only
temporary.
I
want to be clear, James is not saying it is a sin to be rich. Abraham
was rich and he walked with God and was used to bless the world.
Being rich is not the problem. He continues in his not so subtle way
of letting people know that they are not doing what they are supposed
to be doing.
James 2-3a
“2 Your wealth is ruined
and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your silver and gold are corroded”
You know all that stuff you love so
much, it is going to disappear. Your grain, it will rot. Your
clothes, they will be eaten by moths. Your silver and gold, will rust
away. None of the material stuff in this world will last forever. You
should not put your faith in these temporary things.
Many people think if they have some
magical amount of money in the bank that they have nothing to worry
about. Having some extra money in the bank is a good thing, but that
should not be our goal in life.
1 Timothy 6:17
“17 Instruct those who
are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope
on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with
all things to enjoy.”
Wealth can vanish in an
instant. Donald Trump one of the most famous rich people has declared
bankruptcy 4 times. How many people lost a huge amount of money in
the recession back in the 90s. I know lots of people who suffered
from the recession in 2008 and the housing bubble burst shortly
thereafter.
Wealth is temporary, life is short, and
we cannot take it with us.
Luke 12:16-20
“16
Then He told them a parable: “A
rich man’s land was very productive. 17 He thought to himself,
‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops?
18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build
bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. 19 Then I’ll
say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take
it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’
20
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is
demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they
be?’”
It is foolish to live for
the things of this world, you don't get to keep them.
James 3b
“their corrosion will be
a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored
up treasure in the last days!”
Money itself is not a bad
thing. The corrosion or poison can and will eat you alive if your
heart is set on money. If you are focused on gathering wealth or
having the nicest of things, it will eat away at you.
1 Timothy 6:10
“10 For the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have
wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.”
It is said that while
'Thou shall not covet' is the last of the Ten Commandments it is the
most dangerous one. Coveting what others have can drive someone to
break the other nine Commandments. Wanting wealth is the root of all
evil and it can drive someone to do things they would not normally
do.
Abraham was a rich man, he
maintained his faith and was a blessing to others. Lot on the other
hand was a rich man, but it went to his head and ruined him and his
family. If you let money and wealth drive you it can and will erode
your character. Money is not the issue, where your heart is focused
is the issue.
Have you ever done
something for money that you later regretted? I know people who left
good jobs to chase the all mighty dollar, some were successful and
some not so much, but they were were probably the lucky ones. Those
who succeeded ended up with huge mortgages and two large car
payments. They became a slave to their things, their wealth. Those
who did not succeed learned a lot when they were down and out. They
learned that money is not everything, they no longer put their trust
in money.
We also see in verse 3
that the wealthy people 'stored up treasure in the last days.' Sounds
like James was talking to Scrooge. Scrooge would sit there counting
his money, thinking about how he could get more, while others were
going hungry. He thought of only himself and his money, his heart was
in the wrong place.
That is what frustrated
James so much, here we find people in need and this wealth is just
sitting around collecting dust. People were hungry and and the grain
was sitting and rotting. Their were nice robes and cloaks folded and
put away in the rich guys house, while the guy down the rode wore a
robe full of holes. All the money just sitting around not being used
for good.
Again James is not
condemning wealth, he is condemning those who are doing nothing with
the blessings they have received. He is not saying we can't have
money in our bank account, but he is saying bless others with your
blessings. Tithe to the church, give to those in need, support the
missionaries. I have been very thankful to see that over the last 2
years we have been increasing our giving to the different missions
offerings. It is great that even as a small church we can give out of
our blessings and bless others. I pray that we continue to have that
heart of giving.
Don't store up your
wealth, share it.
Matthew 6:19-24
“19
“Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and
rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But collect for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys,
and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole
body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole
body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is
darkness—how deep is that darkness!
24
“No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate
one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot be slaves of God and of money.”
What did Jesus mean by
'collect for yourselves treasures in heaven'? Did He mean that we
should sell everything and give it to the poor as He instructed the
rich young ruler? No. He told the rich ruler that because his problem
was coveting what others had and that needed to be dealt with.
To collect up treasures in
heaven means that we are to be good stewards with God's money.
Remember everything we have is truly owned by God and we are to use
it to bless others. If we use the blessings we have to bless others,
we are storing treasures in heaven.
We have a choice we can
either 'store up treasures for the last days' or 'collect treasures
in heaven.' Focus on ourselves or focus on helping others.
James
5:4
“4 Look! The pay that
you withheld from the workers who reaped your fields cries out, and
the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of
Hosts.”
So the wealthy people were
storing up their money but were not paying their employees? These
rich guys were the worst kind. They held their riches close and took
advantage of the poor. They had everything, the big house, the large
bank account, lots of land, crops galore, and they did not even pay
the guy earning minimum wage. Who worked, needing every penny to put
a roof over his families head and food on the table.
Deuteronomy 24:14-15
“14 “Do not oppress a
hired hand who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or one
of the foreigners residing within a town in your land. 15 You are to
pay him his wages each day before the sun sets, because he is poor
and depends on them. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against
you, and you will be held guilty.”
These rich men had hired
people to come and work for them, the jobs were accepted, completed,
payment was owed, but not paid.
You know what that is,
theft. No other way to look at it. Not paying someone what is owed,
is theft. Remember what I said earlier about how coveting can lead to
breaking other commandments. These rich guys wanted to get wealthier
on the backs of others and coveted the money they owed them, so they
stole it. They broke another Commandment. Their heart was in the
wrong place.
As Christians we need to
faithfully pay our bills. We need to honor our commitments.
James 5:5
“5 You have lived
luxuriously on the land and have indulged yourselves. You have
fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.”
I have recently heard
about a guy who bought a $1.5M house on a lake in Minnesota. As soon
as he closed on it he tore it down so that he could build a 30,000
square foot lake front house. In this home he is going to have a
basketball court, tennis court, movie theater, bowling alley,
swimming pool, and so much more. This place will be huge, luxurious,
and such a waste of money.
All of us are thankful for
the good things in life. We like our indoor plumbing, electricity,
heating and air-conditioning with a flick of a switch, and so many
other modern amenities. Most of us realize that at some point the
cost is not worth it, things like that house in Minnesota is
overkill.
Their is a difference
between enjoying what God has give us and living so luxuriously that
we steal from others to do so. Don't waste the blessings from God on
selfish living, there are to many people in need out there.
Living in excess has a way
of ruining a persons character. Self-indulgence leads to being inward
focused, self-centered, stuck up, and un-caring. If you combine
self-indulgence and wealth the result is sin. If you combine wealth
with Godly character you will see someone who does good.
James 5:6
“6 You have
condemned—you have murdered—the righteous man; he does not resist
you.”
As if stealing form people
was not enough. James is calling these guys out for being corrupt and
using their wealth to buy political power to get exactly what they
want. They were having people condemned through the court systems.
These guys were greasing palms of judges, bearing false witness, and
getting away with murder.
Being wealthy and having a
heart problem has lead to coveting, stealing, bearing false witness,
and murder. If you throw in how they but wealth before God, we are
looking at five different commandments that have been broken in these
6 little verses.
The love of money
corrupts. Breaking one commandment leads to breaking many. A slippery
slope that is all tied to a heart problem. If our heart is not
focused on Jesus, if we are not living for Him, we are in trouble.
I am not telling you this
morning that you cannot have a nice bank account and nice things.
What I am telling you is to not focus on money, don't focus on the
things of this world.
Matthew 6:33
“But
seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things will be provided for you”
Seek God above all things.
What good is a $500,000 house if it is not a home? How about a
million dollar diamond ring if there is no love?
They are worthless. Love God and Love
Others, if you do these things all the money in the world will not
corrupt you.
Keep your heart focused on God!
Thank You for reading!
God Bless,
Robert
