James 5:1-6
Notes
Transcript
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Bible Study:
ME
Illus.: Talk about the first time I went home with a friend mine from college. I was totally blown away by his house. It was huge. His dad had all these collected Mercedes. I was totally blown away.
After meeting his family and seeing his house, I started to develop all kinds of judgments about him and his family. I grew up in a house that would fit in his living room. Therefore, I began to make judgments about him.
WE
No matter what our economic level is there is always someone that we can look at who had more. We can always make judgments about them. However, instead of judging the wealthy we know, we should be judging our own hearts.
GOD
As we turn to James 5, we find this half brother of Jesus giving a stern warning to those in the church who possessed great wealth. Here is what he said...
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
Now, at first glance it would be easy for most of us to immediately start thinking of someone else who this applies to. We might think of someone who has a lot of money. We might think of someone who has money.
However, this message applies to all of us who live in America. Sure there are some exceptions, but the truth is that the average person in America has more than most of the world’s population. We may not have as much as the next guy, but the majority of us have more the most folks in the world around us.
I don’t say this to make you feel bad. I say this with the same spirit that Jamews wrote it. I say it with a WARNING. We must take a deep look at our hearts when it comes to money, because it is can easily become a god and take the place of God in our lives. You don’t have to have a lot of money for it to become a god.
Illus.: Talk about the time that my money had hid some money in one of the books in our library. One of our neighbors was over and was looking through the books and saw the money and took it. It caused a blow up and rift in our families. We has spent so much time together before then, but that theft changed everything. I don’t even know what possessed him to take the money in the first place.
Money can have a really powerful control over our lives and lead us to do some really harsh things to others. So, as we dive into this passage we find four pitfalls of wealth that James shares with us. These are pitfalls that we all need to look out for in our lives.
(1) Hoarding
(1) Hoarding
Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.
Look at the series of illustration that James gives to describe the hoarding that was taking place among those who had wealth.
(1) Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten
(1) Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten
James is indicating that the wealthy had so many clothes that they couldn’t wear them all. They were stored up and as a result moths had gotten to them to eat them.
These words were spoken in a day when the average person had one or maybe two sets of clothes and that is it. The wealthy had a outfit for every occasion.
Illus.: Talk about how if someone from this time were to walk into my closet today and see the numbers of cloths that I have they would be blown away. I am just like this description. I’ve got clothes I don’t even wear.
This is not intended to be an indictment, but it might be. It might be that we have become so used to acquiring that we have started to hoard stuff.
Now, I know some of you are thinking - I’M NOT TO THE TV SHOW LEVEL. That is a hoarder.
If you buy stuff you don’t need, then you might need to take a look in the mirror.
(2) Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire.
(2) Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire.
What does James mean here?
These folks had tucked money and possessions away rather than using their money for good and the benefit or others. They had tucked away for so long that it had corroded Or tarnished.
Illus.: Talk about getting mom’s silver out and polishing it any time we wanted to have a nice meal as a fmaily or with a guest. The longer between times the more tarnished it was.
These folks has items that could be used for the glory of God and the good of others, but they just had them tucked away as a means to build even greater wealth.
Note: This verse is not a condemnation against making money, but against not using money for the good of others and the glory of God. The thing is you don’t have to have much to do that.
Illus.: Talk about the person that bought mine and Julie’s coffee at the Starbucks ahead of us. So, we decided to pay that forward. The crazy thing is that the folks behind spend the same amount as we did. That was a relief becuase it could have been $50.
James lists another pitfall of wealth...
(2) Fraud
(2) Fraud
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
James shares the sad reality of wealthy landowners who defrauded their workers by not paying them for the work that they did for them.
This is the very definition of fraud. To offer payment and refuse once the work is done.
Why would they do that?
To hold to their wealth and get even wealthier. Why? If a person isn’t satisfied in their relationship with God, they will never have enough money.
Illus.: Several years ago a lady was sharing a pray request about the member of her family. She was praying for their salvation. She said that this family members said to her - THE ONE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST TOYS WINS.
You might be thinking - I DON’T DO THAT.
Well, there is more than one way to defraud.
Let me just read a few verses...
A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
but a just weight is his delight.
The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous is generous and gives;
Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.
We defraud, when we make promises that we don’t keep. We defraud when we love money more than people. We defraud when we love money more than God.
There is yet another pitfall that James warns these believers against...
(3) Self-Indulgence
(3) Self-Indulgence
You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
Here James uses two words that help us grab on to this pitfall and perhaps see it in our own lives.
(1) Luxury
(2) Self-indulgence
These folks that James addressed here weren’t just living. They were living large. The had the house, the chariot, the best foods and drink. They were rolling. They probably had a room for their money.
Illus.: I love to watch shows about house. I am fascinated with all kinds of houses (small and big). I especially love to see big houses. I like them becamuse they usually have crazy things going on in them. Things that most of us wouldn’t think to spend money on.
What so wrong wrong with a little luxury?
Nothing, but this is not what James was describing. He was talking about living in luxury at the expense of taking care of one’s promises and the good of their neighbors.
The problem isn’t luxury. It is luxury at the expense of those who have helped you get there. This is the pitfall.
Illus.: Talk about how Julie and I have moved a few times over the years. A few of our move have involved movers, but often it involved friends helping us pack and load a moving truck. What kind of guy would I be if I did nothing for those that helped? Not a great guy. Usually there is a meal involved and some token of appreciation.
Self-indulgence happens when you think only of yourself and forget those who helped you get there.
(4) Betrayal
(4) Betrayal
You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
What? What’s going on?
The wealthy people that James mentions here were using the legal system of their day to get out of paying what they owed their laborers, which resulted in them starving and quite literally facing death.
This is the ultimate act of betrayal to be promised a wage and being cheated out of it not just by your boss but also your legal system.
That is tough. That is exactly what the wealthy were doing in James’ day. They were promising a price, but using the legal system to get out of paying it.
The love of money can cause a lot of broken promises.
to our kids
to our spouse
to our employer
to our friends
I am reminded of a parable that Jesus shared that helps us understand the amount of betrayal that money can cause when it becomes our god.
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
So, what do we do when we see these things popping up in our lives?
So, what do we do when we see these things popping up in our lives?
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
Weep? Howl?
What does that mean?
James 4:9 gives us some insight...
Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Bottom line - we need to turn from these things and return to the Lord.
I have said this before, but I firmly believe that God is using this season in our world to shake the things from our hands that we hold more dearly than Him. If we would simply let go of them and grab on to Him, we would experience revival and renewal like never before.
What’s standing in your way? What are you holding to more tightly than God?
It’s time to loosen your grip and grab on to the one who offers live abundant.